Themus Fulks' clutch free throws sealed a nail-biting win for UCF. See how Knights capitalized on turnovers and built momentum for tournament hopes.
Themus Fulks quieted the Utah crowd at the Jon M. Huntsman Center with his game-winning free throws, propelling the UCF Knights (19-7, 8-6 Big 12) over the Utah Utes (10-17, 2-12 Big 12), 73-71.
Saturday's matchup was a close game, as the largest lead for both teams was under 10 points — UCF's largest at nine and Utah's at three. The Utes displayed the same toughness that helped them break a seven-game losing streak against West Virginia.
They played the Knights almost evenly, having 29 rebounds to UCF's 28, 18 assists to their 15 and 11 turnovers to their 9. However, it wasn't enough as Fulks' late-game free throws cemented victory for UCF.
Here are some key takeaways from Saturday's game:
FULKS OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION CARRIES THE KNIGHTS
The 6-foot-1 guard finished the game with 24 points on 11-for-24 shooting. He had 14 points in the first half and 10 in the second.
Coach Johnny Dawkins spoke on Fulks' performance without Riley Kugel, the team's leading scorer.
"I thought he did a great job of stepping up, especially, you know, with Riley out," Dawkins said. "You know, he needed to do more, and I thought he was prepared for it. He came in the game, he was he was aggressive."
KNIGHTS GENERATE AND CAPITALIZE ON TURNOVERS
UCF forced Utah to turn the ball over 11 times. Forward Jordan Burks led the charge with four steals, using his length to clog the passing lanes and disrupt the Utes' offensive rhythm.
The Knights capitalized on their opponent's turnovers by scoring 18 points to Utah's seven on turnovers. Dawkins noted that taking advantage of opponents' mistakes is part of UCF's play style.
"Everybody has a style of player or system," Dawkins said. "You know, that's part of our system. And so, I thought we did a good job, definitely creating points off turnovers is a big, big part of what we want to do."
CLOSE WIN OVER UTAH GENERATES POSITIVE MOMENTUM FOR NEXT MATCH
Saturday's victory gave UCF its 19th overall and eighth conference win after opening the month with a three-game losing streak. The final match of this Utah road trip is against the No. 23 Brigham Young Cougars and their potential No. 1 overall draft pick, forward AJ Dybantsa.
BYU's game is significant for the Knights' NCAA Tournament hopes. A victory would add their third upset victory of the season and another Quad 1 victory to their NET.
UCF plays BYU on Tuesday at 11 p.m. on ESPN2 at the Marriott Center.
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