GREENVILLE — East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill tells his players not to apologize for wins.

The Pirates were challenged Saturday night in a 28-20 win over Towson at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium but that might have been just what ECU needed. With things to work on, the players will hardly be overconfident going forward. They should be ready to take the coaching this week.

The matchup bore little resemblance to the springboard that a 52-7 win over North Carolina Central provided a year ago, although the formula was similar – a Football Championship Subdivision warm-up before a road trip to play a Southeastern Conference heavyweight.

Last year, ECU outgained host South Carolina in a week two matchup but turnovers and settling for short field goals led to a 33-23 loss.

Towson had the appearance of a speed bump on the road to Florida for East Carolina but midway through the second quarter, the Tigers, an FCS team coming off a 4-8 season, trailed the Pirates by a scant 14-10 margin.

The Tigers didn't care that ECU spent a month or more in the Top 25 in 2014. Towson was focused on upsetting a more highly regarded foe, a position the Pirates will be in next week. The upset bid Saturday night was bolstered by 19 returning starters for the Tigers.

It's unlikely the Pirates prepared exclusively for the Tigers in the preseason, not with Navy's option attack on the docket in two weeks in the American Athletic Conference opener.

There was a question of when ECU's 85-63 advantage in scholarship limits might kick in.

It didn't happen in the first half when Connor Torruella missed a 37-yard field goal and DaShaun Amos dropped a potential interception that hit him in the hands in Towson territory.

A crowd of 40,712 tried to lend its support and maybe a 45-yard touchdown run by Chris Hairston on the first series of the season provided a false sense of security.

It was the first of four TDs for Hairston, who ran 18 times for 154 yards.

"Whatever coach (offensive coordinator Dave Nichol) called, I just ran it," Hairston said. "He wanted to run the ball a lot so I'm here to do that. ... I owe it all to the O-line They've had a great offseason. Coach (offensive line coach Brad Davis) has coached them up. They worked hard in camp and it showed tonight."

Towson answered the initial score with a 30-yard scoring pass from Connor Frazier to Brian Dowling and the Colonial Athletic Association entry had confirmation that it could compete.

If Appalachian State could win in the Big House in 2007, the Tigers might be able to do the trick in the Fick.

Blake Kemp was one reason the upset bid was foiled. The left-hander completed 29 of 37 passes for 230 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

"I thought we played well," Kemp said. "We were all on the same page. We had a good game. Glad to come out with a win. ... We were running the ball so well, we didn't really have to go down the field (vertical routes)."

Kemp admitted to some nerves during game week but said a conversation with his dad helped settle him down.

Isaiah Jones had six catches for 77 yards.

Penalties continue to be a factor. Holding calls defused some drives. Generally law-abiding in Conference USA, the Pirates were last in the AAC last season in penalty yardage per game (77.2). The AAC crew flagged ECU five times for 67 yards in the first half. Towson was penalized twice for 20 yards.

The Pirates finished with eight penalties for 102 yards.

"Got to work on that," McNeill said.

An unsportsmanlike conduct call on corner Josh Hawkins gave Towson a goal-to-go opportunity early in the second half. That is what McNeill calls a selfish penalty. The Tigers got a 32-yard field goal from the field position to draw within 14-13 with 10:18 left in the third quarter.

That may have created a sense of urgency as the Pirates drove 75 yards, converted a fourth down and went up 21-13 on a 1-yard scoring blast by Hairston.

An 11-yard scoring run by Hairston completed a 69-yard series and put the Pirates ahead 28-13 with 12:21 left in the game.

The Tigers closed the gap to 28-20 with 7:53 to go.

Two plays were crucial in maintaining the eight-point lead. Davon Grayson was ruled to have lost a fumble at the ECU 32 but a replay showed his knee was down before the ball came out.

The possession concluded with a 44-yard punt by Worth Gregory, who averaged 47.3 yards on three boots. Towson drove to the ECU 16 and faced a 4th-and-7. Safety Terrell Richardson applied a powerful hit that resulted in an incompletion.

"Big time," McNeill said of Richardson's clutch contribution with 1:55 left.

The Pirates took possession and ran out the clock.

Towson had 27 first downs to 23 for ECU. The Pirates led 440-416 in total yardage.

Frazier completed 15 of 28 for the Tigers for 221 yards with one score and one pick. Stocky Towson running back Darius Victor went forward for 137 yards on 28 carries.

"A bowling ball of butcher knives," was how McNeill described Victor.

Jordan Williams had 10 tackles at the buck linebacker, including five solos. He and Johnathan White had sacks. Patrick Green forced a fumble and Fred Presley recovered it. Hawkins had an interception. Mike backer Zeek Bigger was in on 10 stops.

"Pretty good test," Bigger said. "A good workout. It was the first game. We had to knock off the rust. We had to see what we've got to do and get better each and every day. We'll watch this film and see what we can correct and move on to the next one."

The 28-20 score was the same margin by which the Gators topped ECU in the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3, completing an 8-5 season for the Pirates in 2014.