UCF’s Carmelo Pacheco scored 17 points and 11 teammates also hit the scoring column as the Knights crushed the Florida A&M Rattlers 97-60 on Tuesday night in Orlando, Fla.
Pacheco sank 5-of-6 three-point shots, while Riley Kugel chipped in 16 points and made all three of his three-pointers. George Beale Jr. added 10, while Themus Fulks totaled six points, six rebounds and six assists.
In a rare matchup between coaches who both played in the NBA, coach Johnny Dawkins’ Knights (2-1) made 36-of-66 (54.5%) from the floor and 13-of-20 (65%) from long range.
Florida A&M (0-3), coached by Charlie Ward, was part of a blowout for the third consecutive contest and has dropped three games by 92 points (30.7 per game).
Anthony Knowles tallied 12 points and converted 4-of-8 of his threes.
After making a strong push late against SEC foe Vanderbilt in a 105-93 home loss on Saturday, UCF kept up the offensive spurt by sinking six of its first seven shots and leading the visitors 14-3 early.
The Big 12 school led 19-3, but Miles Ndalama hit a jumper and Knowles slipped a sweet behind-the-back pass to Kaleb Washington for a dunk in transition to show some signs of life from the SWAC school at 11:58.
However, UCF found its long-range stroke against Florida A&M’s zone, nailing 5-of-6 to take a 28-9 advantage on Kris Parker’s trey at 8:57.
Jordan Burks’ dunk pushed it to 32-12, and UCF took its largest lead — 48-20 — on Pacheco’s wing three-pointer on the half’s final shot.
The Knights played a dozen players in the opening frame with 11 of them scoring, and they shot 18-of-31 (58.1%) from the field and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from deep.
In a 29-second span in the second half, Knowles made two treys while Kugel canned his third for a 65-37 UCF lead with 12:25 remaining.
John Bol’s three-point play with 2:11 left gave UCF its largest margin of the night, 93-55.
The Knights outrebounded the Rattlers, 48-24 and outscored them, 17-2, on second-chance opportunities.
–Field Level Media
