Jamichael Stillwell notched his first career UCF double-double and made two key free throws with 38 seconds to go, lifting the Knights to their third straight win, an 87-83 decision over feisty Oakland on Monday night in Orlando.
The Knights (4-1) led by four at halftime then raced out to a 15-point advantage in the second half, but the Golden Grizzlies (1-4) rallied and tied the game with eight minutes to play.
Stillwell, Themus Fulks and Riley Kugel made all six of their free throws in the final minute for the victory.
Stillwell totaled 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Kugel had 18 points. Jordan Burks produced 13 points and seven rebounds. Fulks had 11 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.
Oakland’s Isaac Garrett had 23 points and seven rebounds. Brett White II had 21 points on 6-of 11-shooting from deep. Brody Robinson scored 20, and Tuburu Naivalurua had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
After a big road win over Texas A&M their last time out, the Knights created a 10-4 lead over the Horizon League school behind two buckets from Stillwell and three points from Fulks, but the visitors knotted it 10-all on twin 3-pointers by White.
White, a 27-year-old senior guard, helped shoot Oakland back into it. His long shot and Robinson’s at 8:06 cut it to 17-16 as the Michigan school made 4 of 8 from long range, but Kugel soon hit a pair from the stripe to reach 1,000 career points.
White’s shooting helped keep the Golden Grizzlies within striking distance in the first half, which UCF led just 44-40.
He sank 5 of 7 treys — his only shots from the floor — for his 16 points.
The Knights’ answer was Stillwell, who scored 12 first-half points on 5-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds.
Stillwell sparked a 9-0 second-half run that pushed the edge to 53-42 and continued to dominate on the glass, especially at the offensive end.
Kugel’s 3-point play at 11:20 increased the gap to 70-55, but Oakland stormed back and evened it 70-all on a 15-0 run behind Robinson’s three-point play at 8:17.
The Knights regained the lead on a 3-pointer from Kugel, then mostly held a tenuous lead from there, closing out the win at the line.
–Field Level Media
