Themus Fulks hit a short jumper with 13 seconds left and No. 25 UCF edged Cincinnati 73-72 on Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
The point guard had 12 assists and only six points, but no basket was bigger than his closing 7-foot jumper in the lane. Cincinnati’s Jalen Celestine then rattled out a 26-foot trey to seal it.
Riley Kugel totaled 19 points, six assists and five rebounds for UCF (13-2, 2-1 Big 12). Jamichael Stillwell scored 15 points, while Jeremy Foumena had 12 and eight rebounds. Chris Johnson netted 10 points.
The Knights made 30 of 52 (57.7%) from the floor but committed 14 turnovers.
Former UCF big man Moustapha Thiam totaled a career-high 24 points, but the Bearcats (8-8, 0-3) lost a second consecutive one-possession game.
Thiam’s two free throws cut it to 71-70 with 90 seconds left, and Baba Miller converted a go-ahead layup at the 30-second mark before Fulks’ game-winner.
Jizzle James scored 14 points. Miller had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Cincinnati held a 15-2 margin in fastbreak points but fell to 4-8 in the past 12 games.
The Bearcats took advantage of three turnovers by the home side and had four different scorers put in points in an 8-2 run inside the first three minutes.
UCF erased a seven-point deficit with a tying layup by Stillwell. Then the forward canned a short jumper as UCF took its first lead, 14-12, at 12:27 and appeared to have its game going.
The Knights continued to have problems taking care of the ball as their turnover total climbed to six, but it did not hurt them as they led 21-14 at 8:23 on Devan Cambridge’s layup to cap a 16-2 run.
Thiam, a 7-foot-2 native of Senegal who was booed every time he touched the ball, netted five points late in the half, including a 3-pointer, to give him 11 points and cut the Knights’ halftime advantage to 33-32.
In the second half, Fulks drove the lane and dished to Foumena, who threw down a dunk at 16:35 as UCF inched the lead to 42-36. Cincinnati answered with six in a row, and Day Day Thomas’ baseline jumper tied the game.
Miller later dunked and hit a free throw for a 47-44 Cincinnati edge, but the tight contest stayed within one possession through the middle part of the half.
–Field Level Media
