Houston, TX -- (Sports Network) - Gabe Blair's double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds led the East Carolina Pirates to a 75-68 victory over the Rice Owls in a Conference-USA tilt at the Reliant Arena.

Cory Farmer and Sam Hinnant both contributed 12 points apiece for ECU (11-17, 5-10 C-USA), which collected its first road win of the season.

Rice (3-25, 0-15) still fell despite Patrick Britton's 40-point effort. Aleks Perka chipped in 12 points, as the Owls remained winless in league play.

The Owls went into the break with a 35-31 lead, thanks to a strong 50.0 percent shooting effort from the field.

However, the Pirates stormed back, netting 60.9 percent of their attempts from the floor, while also connecting on 13-of-15 free throws en route to the eight- point win.

ECU made 21-of-24 foul shots in the contest, while Rice nailed just 14-of-19 attempts from the charity stripe.