Knights win their 5th conference game

UCF pulled off a comeback victory at home, 79-76, after recovering from a 12-point deficit late in the second half against Arizona State on Tuesday night.

The Knights (16-4, 5-3 Big 12) secured their second consecutive win over the Sun Devils (11-10, 2-6 Big 12) while experiencing foul trouble and missing three-point shots all night.

UCF men’s basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins said in the postgame press conference that his players believe as long as there’s time on the clock, they still have a chance.

“They keep competing until the final second ticks off. You have to have that in this league because there are so many good teams,” Dawkins said. “If you don’t fight, you can get knocked back any night. The ability to compete and keep fighting is critical, and our guys do that.”

Senior forward Jamichael Stillwell drained a three-point shot to kick off the matchup, catapulting UCF to a lead early in the first half.

But Arizona State senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson returned the favor with a three-pointer of his own that finally put the Sun Devils in the lead at 12-11.

As the intense matchup continued, personal fouls called on UCF, while shooting 1-for-10 from three in the first half, kept Arizona State firmly in the game.

Arizona State graduate student forward Allen Mukeba slammed a dunk at 23-22, giving the Sun Devils a lead they would maintain until halftime.

Arizona State senior guard Maurice Odom held the Sun Devils together, leading in scoring with 10 points, along with two rebounds and three assists, while senior guard Riley Kugel acted as the glue for UCF, shooting 3-for-5 from the field with four rebounds and two assists in the first half.

A jumper from Stillwell put UCF closer to regaining the lead coming out of the locker room.

Tensions grew when Arizona State junior Bryce Ford and junior forward Jordan Burks fought for possession of the ball, which sparked arguments from both sides of the court. The heated exchange resulted in a personal foul being called on Ford.

Junior guard Carmelo Pacheco kept hope alive for UCF with a three-pointer assisted by Kugel, tying the game 47-47, but another dunk from Mukeba put Arizona State back in the lead.

UCF faced adversity going forward as the continuous fouls called on the Knights disrupted the rhythm and allowed Arizona State more opportunities to put points on the board.

But the shoulder-to-shoulder UCF student section rattled the Sun Devils as they ended the second half shooting 66.7% from the free-throw line.

“I don’t think that’s the reason we lost, but in a game like this—when it’s decided by that margin—you could point your finger at any number of things and the missed free throws are probably one of them,” Arizona State head coach Bob Hurley said during the postgame press conference.

All hope seemed lost for UCF as Arizona State took its biggest lead of the night at a 12-point distance (70-58) with about six minutes left on the clock. However, the Knights persisted.

UCF began a scoring run with three-pointers from Kugel and junior guard Chris Johnson, followed by a turnaround jumper from fifth-year guard Themus Fulks.

Knight Nation stood up in support of their knights, as fouls called on Arizona State put Kugel and Fulks on the free-throw line tied the game at 72-72.

Another three-pointer from Pacheco, followed by a three-pointer from Burks, finally put UCF in the 78-76 and forced Arizona State call its last timeout with 25 seconds left of the game.

A personal foul called on Odom allowed Fulks to close the game with a free throw that ended the matchup in a Knights victory.

“That was a crunch time game. One team might be up, the other team that’s down might come back and win,” Stillwell said in the postgame conference. “We practice hard every day, we work on it every day, so when game time comes, this is a regular thing.”

As a team, Arizona State outshone UCF in certain areas, shooting 47.3% from the field and 43.5% from three, but it was no use against the momentum of the Knights’ fight for the win.

Even after the comeback win, Dawkins commended Hurley, a fellow Duke University player, on the way his team competed.

“I have nothing but respect for his program and for him as a coach. But it’s always tough for us to compete against each other because we are former [Duke Blue Devils]. You don’t always want to play against guys that you have grown up with,” Dawkins said. “Unfortunately, we’re in the same league and that’s going to happen, so we have to gear up for it.”

UCF returns home hosting its Space Game against the No.11 Texas Tech Red Raiders (16-4, 6-1 Big 12) at noon on Saturday, January 31.