ORLANDO — In a game where neither team led by double digits, the No. 25 UCF men’s basketball team survived a late surge from longtime rival Cincinnati to earn a 73-72 Big 12 Conference victory Sunday night inside Addition Financial Arena.
Trailing 72-71, point guard Themus Fulks hit a running tear-drop jumper over a pair of Bearcats defenders with 11.8-seconds left and the Knights withstood a 3-point jumper from Jalen Celestine that rimmed out as the final horn sounded and sending the crowd of just under 8,000 into a frenzy.
“Just Big 12 basketball at its best,” said Head Coach Johnny Dawkins. “Every single night, it’s a fight. You have terrific coaches, terrific talent on the floor and amazing environments. I thought our environment was huge tonight in helping us win this game. So, really excited for our win.”
Cincinnati (8-8, 0-3) took advantage of four UCF (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) turnovers to open a quick 8-2 lead before the hosts answered with a 12-4 run, aided by 3-pointers from Jordan Burks and Chris Johnson, capped by back-to-back scores from Jamichael Stillwell that gave UCF its first lead, 14-12, at the 12:30 mark.
After the Bearcats tied the game at 14-14, Riley Kugel scored five straight points start a 7-0 run as the Black and Gold built a 21-14 advantage.
But Cincinnati responded with a 9-2 run to knot the game at 23-23 with 4:35 left before intermission. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with Kugel throwing down an amazing driving dunk over a defender late in the half as UCF carried a 33-32 advantage into the break.
After a see-saw second half, the Knights looked to be in control when an “and one” from Stillwell gave the hosts a 69-64 lead with 3:08 left, but UC responded with an 8-2 run to take a 72-71 lead on a Baba Miller layup with 30-seconds left, setting the stage for Fulks’ heroics.
Kugel led UCF with 19 points, while Stillwell added 15, Jeremy Foumena 12 and a season-high eight rebounds and Johnson 10. Fulks dished out 12 assists, his fourth double-digit assists game this season.
The Bearcats were led by former UCF player Moustapha Thiam with a career-high 24 points. Two other players with Florida ties, Jizzle James (Olympia High, Orlando) and Miller (FAU) scored 14 and 13, respectively.
Up Next:
The Knights will be at Kansas State tonight (Wednesday) at 8 p.m. on Peacock before returning to Orlando to battle No. 1 ranked Arizona on Saturday at 4 p.m. with the game being televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. The games will also be on the radio at 96.9 (FM) The Game.
Here is the box score:
UCF 73, Cincinnati 72
Cincinnati (8-8, 0-3 Big 12)
Moustapha Thiam 10-15 3-3 24, Jizzle James 7-14 0-0 14, Baba Miller 6-11 1-1 13, Day Day Thomas 3-8 0-2 7, Sencire Harris 2-8 1-2 5, Jalen Celestine 2-7 0-0 5, Tyler McKinley 1-1 0-0 2, Shon Abaev 1-3 0-0 2, Halvine Dzellat 0-0 0-0 0, Keyshuan Tillery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 32-67 5-8 72.
UCF (13-2, 2-1 Big 12)
Riley Kugel 7-10 3-4 19, Jamichael Stillwell 7-13 1-1 15, Jordan Burks 2-4 1-2 7, Themus Fulks 3-7 0-0 6, John Bol 1-2 0-0 2, Jeremy Foumena 6-8 0-0 12, Chris Johnson 3-4 2-2 10, Devan Cambridge 1-2 0-0 2, George Beale Jr. 0-2 0-0 0, Kris Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 30-52 7-9 73.
Halftime Score _ UCF 33, UC 32. 3-point Field Goals _ UC 3-19 (Celestine 1-5, Thomas 1-3, Thiam 1-2, James 0-3, Harris 0-3, Abaev 0-2, Miller 0-1); UCF 6-14 (Burks 2-4, Kugel 2-4, Johnson 2-3, Stillwell 0-2, Cambridge 0-1). Team Fouls _ UC 14; UCF 14. Fouled Out _ none. Technical Fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UC 27 (Miller 7, Thiam 5); UCF 30 (Foumena 8, Kugel 5). Turnovers _ UC 7; UCF 14. Assists _ UC 19 (Harris 6, Miller, Thomas 4 each); UCF 20 (Fulks 12, Kugel 6). Steals _ UC 9 (Harris 3, Miller 2); UCF 1 (Johnson). Blocked Shots _ UC 3 (Miller 2); UCF 3 (Burks, Bol, Cambridge).
