NEW ORLEANS ­— In a game that matched the strange environment inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday afternoon, East Carolina outlasted Tulane for a critical Conference USA football victory.

With mostly silence and empty seats as the backdrop, ECU overcame a sluggish first half and then leaned heavily on its defense to hold the Green Wave at bay and scrape by with a 28-23 victory.

The Pirates (7-4, 6-1 C-USA) got just enough touchdowns to survive, and their win coupled with C-USA East Division leader UCF’s loss to Tulsa kept ECU in the hunt for a C-USA championship game berth.

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