Riley Kugel shook off early foul trouble to score 22 points, Themus Fulks scored 19 points, and UCF beat Colorado 95-86 in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.
Jamichael Stillwell scored 15 points, Devan Cambridge contributed 11, Chris Johnson scored 10 points and John Bol grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knights (15-4, 4-3 Big 12).
Kugel set a career-high with six made 3-pointers. He had picked up three fouls in the first half and was limited to nine minutes but scored 17 points in the second half when UCF pulled away to end a two-game skid.
Barrington Hargress, Sebastian Rancik and Isaiah Johnson scored 20 apiece and Bangot Dak finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Buffaloes (12-8, 2-5), who have dropped five in a row.
The Knights were 10-for-13 from deep in the first half but only led 49-47 at halftime after Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. They finished 15-for-24 from behind the arc.
UCF opened up a six-point lead early in the second half but Rancik’s three free throws got the Buffaloes within 53-51. Hargress went to the bench with his third foul with 17:07 left and the Knights stretched their lead to 60-53 on Fulks’ layup. Hargress returned and Isaiah Johnson’s 3-pointer made it 60-56.
UCF went on a 10-2 run to lead 70-58 midway through the second half. Kugel’s fourth 3-pointer of the day put the Knights ahead 73-60 and buckets by Stillwell and Jordan Burks made it 79-64 with 6:31 left.
Colorado scored the next six points and had a chance to get closer after a UCF turnover but Bol blocked Hargress on a layup attempt and Fulks converted at the other end.
The Buffaloes made one final push, pulling within 86-80 on 3-pointers by Jalin Holland and Johnson, and they had a chance to make it a one-possession game but Kugel banked in a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 2:15 remaining, and the Knights closed it out.
–Field Level Media
