UCF basketball survives Utah upset bid on Themus Fulks free throws

UCF survived a tougher-than-expected trip to Salt Lake City, picking up a fourth true road win of the year and keeping its at-large NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Themus Fulks made a pair of go-ahead free throws with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, propelling the Knights to a 73-71 win over host Utah. The fifth-year senior finished with a game-high 24 points, adding four assists.

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“As a point guard, you want to be able finish the game for your guys,” Fulks told ESPN+ afterward. “We had a tough stretch toward the end, but on the road, you’ve got a find a way to win. And we did that.

“Ever since the Oklahoma State game, when we were top-25 or not top-25, we don’t take no games for granted. We knew we needed this one, and onto the next.”

UCF (19-7, 8-6) led by as many as nine in the late stages of the first half, but Terrence Brown and Don McHenry produced 26 of their 40 combined points after the break. McHenry answered a 3-pointer in the final minute by Jordan Burks by sinking three pressure-packed free throws.

On the ensuing UCF possession, Fulks drove the lane on Seydou Traore, who attempted to foul before the shot since the Utes (10-17, 2-12) had one to give. Instead, officials awarded two shots, Fulks knocked them down and Brown hit the back iron on a 3 at the buzzer.

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Here are three takeaways from a back-and-forth battle that featured 16 lead changes.

UCF leading scorer Riley Kugel sidelined due to injury

Riley Kugel missed his first game of the season due to an undisclosed injury suffered late in the second half against TCU. He watched from the sidelines in street clothes after being listed as a game-time decision on the Big 12’s final availability report.

Kugel, an Orlando native who spent the previous three years at Florida and Mississippi State, leads the Knights in scoring at a career-high 14 points per game. He is shooting 38.1% from 3-point range, adding 67 assists and 22 steals.

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Chris Johnson drew the start at guard, alongside Themus Fulks, in Kugel’s absence. The junior had eight points and five assists, and he contested Brown’s final 3-point attempt to force the miss.

Jamichael Stillwell and Carmelo Pacheco were also listed as game-time decisions, and both players suited up. Pacheco hit both of his 3-point attempts, while Stillwell had a relatively modest six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Themus Fulks repeatedly called his own number

With Kugel sidelined, Fulks shouldered the scoring load, topping the 20-point threshold for the sixth time as a Knight.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder created mismatches off screens, beating bigger defenders off the dribble to either find pockets in the midrange or go straight to the basket. He took 24 of UCF’s 57 field goal attempts on the night, and 12 of its 24 in the second half.

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UCF also took advantage of Utah’s mistakes, turning 11 turnovers into 18 points — none more emphatic than an uncontested dunk by Burks on a dropoff from Fulks. Burks, who shined in a Feb. 17 win over TCU, had 14 points and four rebounds.

UCF prepares for another Quad 1 road game at BYU

Saturday marked a must-win game for UCF, which again handled business on the other side of the country against one of the Big 12’s bottom-tiered teams. The Knights picked up earlier wins at Kansas State and Colorado.

Not only could the Knights ill afford a defeat to a team that just ended a month-long losing streak, but they will be heavy underdogs when they head about an hour south to Provo on Feb. 24 to meet BYU. It’s the latest tipoff time of the year, beginning at 11 p.m.

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BYU entered its home date with Iowa State mired in a bit of a rough patch, losing five of its previous seven games. In addition, senior shooting guard Richie Saunders suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.

However, the Cougars have a 10-2 home record and a potential top-three NBA draft pick in freshman AJ Dybantsa.

As of Feb. 20, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi listed BYU as a No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament. By contrast, he had UCF in as a 10-seed, one of the final four teams granted a bye from the First Four play-in event in Dayton, Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF basketball wins at Utah, keeps NCAA Tournament hopes alive