The Knights defeated Florida Atlantic 85-80 Tuesday afternoon to improve to 11-1 on the season. A big conference opener against Kansas looms around the corner.
The Knights (10-1) took on in-state rival Florida Atlantic (8-4) at Disney's World Wide of Sports on Tuesday afternoon.
UCF got off to a slow start in the first half, trailing by as many as 14 in the first half. Florida Atlantic (FAU) came out firing, knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first half. Former Stanford and Indiana guard Kannan Carlyle was the initiator, scoring nine points while leading his team with five rebounds and four assists.
Fifth-year senior point guard Themus Fulks continued to jumpstart the Knights' offense, helping keep his team within striking distance. Fulks scored eight while adding five first-half dimes to help cut the deficit to five at halftime. UCF trailed 38-33.
Coming out of the break, the Knights answered a difficult offensive start with an 11-0 flurry. Both Fulks and senior guard Riley Kugel nailed a three during the run, helping UCF jump out to a six-point lead early in the second half.
Kugel continued to be aggressive throughout the game despite struggling last game and failing to score. He did a great job of finding his spots along with getting to the free-throw line. After starting the year shooting over 50% from 3-point range, Kugel has cooled off from deep. However, this game, he found his stroke from deep making two 3-pointers while continuing to add value at the defensive end with three steals.
Just after the eight-minute media break, Kugel intercepted a pass and went coast-to-coast before being fouled. Kugel sunk the first free throw before collecting his rebound on the second miss and finding junior forward Jordan Burks for a lay-up to give the Knights a 64-57 lead.
Thanks to some good late-game free throw shooting from Kugel, Fulks and Burks, the Knights were able to maintain their lead and secure a tenth straight victory.
Fulks had his strongest outing since arriving at UCF, leading all scorers with 24 and adding a game-high 12 assists. Sophomore center John Bol also recorded the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Knights are rolling into conference play with a lot of confidence and will need to overcome the struggles within Big 12 play over the past few seasons.
UCF will open up conference play Jan. 3 against Kansas. Freshman phenom guard and likely top three pick in the upcoming NBA draft Darryn Peterson has been nursing a hamstring injury which may sideline him for this showdown. Knights fans will be monitoring his status.