UCF coach Johnny Dawkins might have found something in Tuesday’s comeback win over Quinnipiac — a go-to big man.
Dawkins and his Knights will search for their sixth straight win when they host VMI on Saturday afternoon in Orlando, Fla.
The Knights (6-1) trailed Quinnipiac 60-50 in the second half before reserve Jeremy Foumena lit a fire, sending the home side on an extended 34-10 scoring tear through the Bobcats’ defense that put the game away.
On a career night, the 6-foot-11 Foumena, a Montreal native who had just 17 points all season, stood out.
He poured in a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting by dominating around the rim with his teammates feeding him while UCF committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
A junior center, Foumena played sparingly in his lone season at his most recent stop at Mississippi State when he saw action in just nine games. He started his career at Rhode Island.
“I’m a kid that stayed the course,” said Foumena, who grabbed seven rebounds. “In the second half, we knew we had to go deep. … We just came out strong.”
Point guard Themus Fulks handed out a career-high 13 assists, nearly double his average of 7.7 per game, while John Bol notched a career-high 13 points with six rebounds.
A UCF win Saturday would equal the best start under Dawkins with the 2016-17 team that went 24-12 and advanced to the NIT semifinals.
The Keydets (3-6) will finish a four-game road swing through Florida and will be looking for better play.
VMI has dropped five straight games since notching its last win in a 106-54 pounding of Virginia-Lynchburg on Nov. 12.
“I told the guys there’s usually a game every season that you have to wash away,” Keydets coach Andrew Wilson said after an 87-54 loss to Richmond last week before leaving on the current road trip. “… We’ve got a tough journey ahead of us.”
He was right.
The Southern Conference school fell 81-48 to Bowling Green at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday, making just 10 of 50 shots (20%). Only one player, Linus Holmstrom, hit double figures with 11 points, as VMI lost for the third time in the Sunshine State after losses to Stetson and Buffalo.
TJ Johnson leads the squad at 20.1 points per game, while Walker Andrews scores 11.3 and Mario Tatum Jr. adds 10.8.
–Field Level Media
