ORLANDO – UCF point guard Themus Fulks hit a jumper on the left side of the lane to give the Knights a 73-72 lead over the Cincinnati Bearcats with 11 seconds remaining.
Swingman Riley Kugel dribbled into the lane and threw the kick-out pass. Fulks took two dribbles to the left and released the basketball to score on a touch shot. This came on the heels of Cincinnati power forward Baba Miller scoring in the paint to give the Bearcats a 72-71 lead with 35 seconds remaining.
“I feel like Cincinnati did a good job of trying to keep the ball out of my hands, so I was more distributing today,” said Fulks. “I got a good look, and I didn’t get many because they were doing a good job of trying to keep two on the ball.”
Fulks is the Knights’ second-leading scorer and knows how to pick and choose shooters vs. finding his own shots, which defined Kugel on the pass to Fulks. He finished with six points and 12 assists in 35 minutes.
“Themus is a winner,” said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. “He has done that for us multiple times this season. He gives us what we need to have out there. That is a sound, very good point guard.”
The drama began after a Cincinnati timeout to set up a potential game-winning shot. Bearcats guard Jizzle James penetrated the left side and kicked to Jalen Celestine, who had spotted up on the right wing. He released the shot off the catch, and the basketball went in and out at the buzzer. The Knights survived a tough home matchup with a win over a Cincinnati team that is noticeably better than its 8-8 record.
“I was just hoping it didn’t go in,” said guard Chris Johnson.
“I was under the basket looking, and I was thinking it was going ot go in,” lamented Fulks.
UCF shot 58 percent from the floor while outrebounding Cincinnati, 30-27.
“You know that we have terrific players on the floor, a lot of weapons,” acknowledged Dawkins. “We wanted to make sure we played man. Tried to pick up in our man and tried to keep them in front as best we could. There was only one point game, so we wanted to ‘guard your yard’ as best we could.”
Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said his idea was to create space for a good look at the rim by a shooter.
“You want to get the ball in space, put pressure on the rim, and try to make a play,” commented Miller. “I thought Jizzle did a nice job of doing that without forcing it or getting in a difficult spot. He found JC (Jalen Celestine), put him in a close-out, and I thought he got a good look.”
Johnson, Foumena Play Major Roles: Johnson makes 46 percent of his shots while averaging one three-pointer per game. He finished with 10 points in 26 minutes. His three with 7:35 to play broke one of the game’s nine ties and gave UCF a 60-57 advantage.
“I thought Chris did a really good job for us today,” Dawkins said. “Chris is growing into his role. These guys are all learning to play together. They learn to play their roles. It’s a challenge because they all come from different places, and they were all allowed to do different things where they were.”
At 6-11, 235, Jeremy Foumena just missed a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds while making six of eight shots. The Quebec native has excellent touch around the rim as he used his hook shot and 15-footer in the lane with consistency.
UCF’s post play matched Miller and Moustapha Thiam in the paint and was a major reason how the Knights were able to strike late.
“J-Mike (Jamichael Stillwell) was really efficient,” noted Fulks. “He was over 50 percent from the field today. If he doesn’t make the open shots, Chris don’t get the shots in the corner for threes, Riley can’t get all the way to the basket bc they are locking in on us.”
With a 64-62 lead, Fulks fed Stillwell for a 16-footer, and Stillwell followed with a solid and-one as he made a layup on the right side and the subsequent free throw. The Knights were 15-of-23 from the floor in the second half.
“Once they went zone, we hit Jamichael Stillwell in the middle of the zone, and we switched a guard on him,” said Johnson. “We just took what the defense gave us.”
Knights Have a Catalyst in Kugel: The former Florida Gator found his rhythm midway through the first half as he hit a triple off the left wing to give UCF a 19-14 lead with 10:13 left before halftime. Kugel drilled seven consecutive points to begin the second half as UCF led 42-36 with 16:36 to play in the game.
“He’s one of the guys we go to, and he has been terrific for us through most of the season,” Dawkins said. “Just making plays that are in front of him. I thought he made some plays both in the first half and second half that really set a tone for us and what to do on the offensive end.”
Kugel led four Knights in double figures with 19 points, six assists, and five boards. He made 7-of-10 field goals as he shoots 39 percent from three on the season.
Another Close Miss for the Bearcats: Cincinnati’s one-point loss exemplified the fact that the Bearcats have been beaten by a combined total of 13 points in their last four games. Former Knight Moustapha Thiam had a career-high 24 points to lead the Bearcats by making 10-of-15 field goals in 31 minutes.
“You guys know this because you covered him last year, and it was supposed to be his last year in high school, said Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller. “As his body is maturing, he is becoming more of a force around the basket. Five rebounds. He knows I’ll be on him because I want him to get 25 every game. I’m glad he had a good night because I know he was emotional, and he was glad to be here.”
Dawkins made many of the same sentiments as he reiterated that 7-1 Thiam and 6-11 Miller are one of the top post duos in college basketball.
“That is a big front line they had – probably one of the biggest front lines we have faced all year,” said Dawkins. “For us to win the rebounding battle is significant because that is one of the most important parts of his game. We have guys that are active on the boards, and they outrebounded a really good and long basketball team today.”