It was a game filled with turnovers and mistakes, but in the end, East Carolina came out on top by beating Tulsa, 38-31, Thursday night at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The two teams combined for six turnovers in the game, the Pirates committed four while the Golden Hurricane committed two.

Tulsa fell to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in American Athletic Conference play, while East Carolina improved to 6-4 and 4-2 in the AAC standings. The Pirates became bowl eligible, and the Golden Hurricane’s chances of winning six games this season came to an end.

“We appreciate the fight and the battle, the kids played really hard and battled their tails off,” said Tulsa head coach Kevin Wilson. “They could have done a lot of things still a lot better. We, in the first half, had an opportunity with several drives to get a few more points and we didn’t. Had a great turnover in the second half. Didn’t get anything out of it. Left some points on the field. Came down at the end, got close but didn’t maybe make the right execution or the right calls we needed.”

Tulsa scored first on a Seth Morgan 47-yard field goal, with 11:21 left in the first quarter.

On the Pirates next possession, they drove 80 yards on four plays and scored on a four-yard pass from Katin Houser to Winston Wright Jr., to take a 7-3 lead.

With 7:00 remaining in the second quarter, ECU extended their lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Marlon Gunn Jr.

Tulsa cut the Pirates’ lead with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Legas to Joseph Williams with 1:51 left in the second quarter.

A pick-six for Tulsa’s Keuan Parker with 1:32 left in the second quarter gave TU a 17-14 lead.

“We were in a trap-2 defense to the field, and I think I was at the right place at the right time,” Parker said about the interception. “I tried to bait the quarterback from being at a deeper depth from pre-snap and to walk down to what I was going to really be in and God did the rest, blessed me.”

Parker was playing for the first time in a few weeks because of an injury. He said it was great to be back on the field.

“It was a blessing to be back out there with my brothers fighting, getting another one, and just doing it,” Parker said. “We had a couple that didn’t get to make it out to the game, and we were trying to fight for them. It just felt good and joyful to be out there, having fun with my brothers.”

As time expired in the first half, Andrew Conrad kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter, before Tulsa took the lead with 12:14 left in the fourth quarter when Lagas connected with Williams to make the score 31-24.

ECU got a pair of touchdowns by Rahjai Harris in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to win the game.

Tulsa’s defense had a season-high four takeaways, including interceptions by Parker, Elijah Green and Buddha Garrett, while Garrett also had a fumble recovery.

East Carolina outgained Tulsa 536 to 399 yards, including 222 to 106 yards on the ground and 314 to 292 passing yards.

Tulsa’s Legas completed 20-of-32 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Joseph Williams on all three. Williams ended the game with five receptions for a season-high 158 yards.

Wilson said he’s impressed with the way Williams and the young players have progressed.

“He’s very talented and coming in here he played high school quarterback,” Wilson said.     “He’s raw and learning. Coach Switz is doing a great job, a great core of those young guys. But just appreciate how they’re coming. And appreciate the job they’re doing in the classroom.”

ECU was led by their quarterback Houser who completed 24-of-37 passes for 314 yards, while Harris carried the ball 18 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Tulsa will be in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday to close out its road season against the South Florida Bulls. The Hurricane will close out the regular season on Nov. 30, when the Florida Atlantic Owls visit Chapman Stadium.