UCF's win streak at 8 after 2nd-half explosion vs. Mercer

Jordan Burks led all scorers with 17 points and Riley Kugel added 16 to lead UCF to an 81-63 win over Mercer on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla.

Themus Fulks chipped in with 14 points, while Jamichael Stillwell recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knights (9-1) extended their winning streak to eight games, the program's longest since the 2004-05 campaign.

Brady Shoulders led Mercer (7-4) with 14 points and Armani Mighty finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Leading scorer Baraka Okojie was held to 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.

UCF outscored Mercer 46-36 in the second half behind its three-point shooting. Burks gave the Knights a 47-31 lead early in the second half with one of his four 3-pointers. Carmelo Pacheco added a 3-pointer of his own with 11:28 remaining to give UCF a 58-39 lead.

Overall, UCF went 5-for-7 from long distance in the second half and shot 64.3% from the floor. The Knights made their last five field goal attempts.

In the first half, both teams struggled offensively. UCF missed nine of its first 10 3-point attempts and made just three of its 17 perimeter shots in the first half. The Knights were limited to 30% from the floor in the first half.

The big difference in the first half was UCF's 15-2 run that helped the Knights take a 28-14 lead with 6:08 remaining in the half. Mercer, however, responded with an 8-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to 28-22.

UCF took an 11-point lead in the last minute of the half, but Connor Serven cut the halftime deficit to 35-27 after knocking down a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Knights will put their winning streak on the line on Saturday when they host Florida Gulf Coast in their penultimate nonconference game. Mercer will travel to Washington State on Saturday.

--Field Level Media