Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the Central Florida overcame a poor shooting start to beat Tarleton State 66-51 on Sunday afternoon for its seventh straight home win.
The Knights (7-2) of the Big 12 Conference stayed undefeated at Addition Financial Arena this season by defeating a Western Athletic Conference foe for the second consecutive weekend. UCF also posted its 100th home victory under ninth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins.
Moustapha Thiam was key at both ends of the floor, as the 7-foot-2 freshman posted 10 points, a career-high nine rebounds and tied a career best with six blocked shots. Ivy-Curry also grabbed six rebounds and sank four of UCF’s nine triples, while Keyshawn Hall added eight points and six boards.
UCF senior guard Darius Johnson (10 points, seven assists) entered play ranked third among Division I players with 3.1 steals per game. He secured three against Tarleton State to take sole possession of third place on UCF’s career steals list with 186.
The 1 p.m. start seemed to keep UCF from generating any offensive rhythm against a Texans team averaging 20.7 turnovers per game. The Knights shot 25 percent (8 of 32) from the floor in the opening half — including a 0-for-13 start from 3-point range — but a late 16-4 run gave them a 29-21 halftime lead.
Tarleton State (3-8) used a 12-0 run to close within 42-38 on Jordan Mizell’s tip-in with 10:23 remaining in regulation. But UCF countered with a 22-11 burst, as Curry netted 11 points in just under three minutes for a 64-49 advantage at the 3:07 mark.
Tarleton State was led in part by Chris Mpaka’s 11 points and nine rebounds. Bubu Benjamin overcame first-half foul trouble to score a team-high 13 points, Izzy Miles had nine points and was a force defensively with eight steals, and Keitenn Bristow added eight points and seven rebounds.
The Texans committed 23 turnovers compared to 17 for UCF. The Knights finished 19-of-53 shooting (35.8 percent), but they were more successful at the foul line by making 19 of 22 attempts.
–Field Level Media
