UCF fends off visiting Purdue Fort Wayne

Field Level Media|published: Fri 8th November, 21:42 2024

Mar 13, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; UCF Knights coach Johnny Dawkins on the sidelines during the second half against the Brigham Young Cougars at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images

UCF's Jordan Ivy-Curry scored five of his game-high 18 points in the final 3:45 Friday as the Knights staved off an upset after pulling off one earlier in the week, beating the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons 75-68 in Orlando.

The Knights (2-0), whose fans stormed the court Monday after a 64-61 shocker over No. 13 Texas A&M, trailed by four on Friday with 6:57 left after Rasheed Bello's third trey made it 64-60.

However, UCF got baskets from Ivy-Curry, 7-foot-2 freshman Moustapha Thiam and Darius Johnson inside the final four minutes for the win.

Ivy-Curry hit 5 of 12 field goals and all eight free throws, although he went 0 for 6 on 3-point attempts. Keyshawn Hall had 14 points (on 3 of 12 shooting) and 12 rebounds, while Thiam collected 13 points and six rebounds.

The Mastodons (1-1), a Horizon League member who won 23 games last season, got 11 points and six boards from Eric Mulder. Quinton Morton-Robertson had 11 points and five rebounds, and Jalen Jackson totaled 10 points and seven rebounds.

Purdue Fort Wayne made just one field goal and four points after Bello's trey.

UCF hit 23 of 30 free throws (76.7 percent), while Purdue Fort Wayne made 4 of 7 (57.1 percent).

After all the emotion of the win over the Aggies, UCF struggled mightily at the start, missing its first nine shots. Meanwhile, the Mastodons' Bello and Morton-Robertson hit a 3-pointer apiece for the game's only points through the first 6:23.

Hall finally broke the ice from the line with two free throws, and Johnson put in a layup on UCF's 10th field goal attempt.

In nearly nine minutes to open the game, the two squads combined for 12 points and 12 turnovers before Syracuse transfer Benny Williams gave UCF its first lead, 8-6, with 10:49 left in the half.

After their poor start, the Knights drained 10 of 17 shots, including a 5 of 6 run.

Ivy-Curry scored seven of his 11 first-half points inside the final two minutes as UCF took a 34-33 lead at the halftime break.

The Big 12 school did most of its damage at the foul line by knocking down 13 of its 17 attempts.

--Field Level Media