Jan. 31, 2005
ORLANDO - Junior Anthony Williams (Omaha, Neb./Indian Hills CC) scored a game-high 18 points and sophomore Josh Peppers (Memphis, Tenn./Whitehaven) drained a three-pointer with one minute left to break a tie as UCF claimed a 67-58 victory over Lipscomb in an Atlantic Sun contest, Monday evening at UCF Arena. With the win, the Golden Knights improve to 14-7 overall and 7-6 in the A-Sun while Lipscomb drops to 10-9 and 5-7.
After Williams scored inside to knot the game at 58 with 1:56 to play, Peppers nailed a trey on UCF's next possession to give the hosts their first lead since the start of the second half. On the ensuing Bison possession, Brian Fisk missed a shot from behind-the-arc and senior Gary Johnson (Wayne, Mich./Schoolcraft CC) sank six free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Golden Knights, who scored 11 unanswered points to end the contest.
Johnson finished with 17 points and six assists and was the only other UCF player to finish with double-digits in scoring.
UCF mounted an 11-0 run towards the end of the first period and led by 13 after junior Troy Lindbeck (Collinsville, Ill./Collinsville) hit from deep. At the break, the Golden Knights had a 34-28 advantage.
Behind seven points from James Poindexter, the Bison opened the second period on 17-7 spurt. After Cameron Robinson stole a pass at midcourt and raced for a dunk, Lipscomb snatched its first lead of the contest, 40-39, with 16:27 on the clock.
Lipscomb's edge would grow to as many as six after Fisk hit a pair of free throws.
For the game, UCF shot 50 percent from the field and 73.9 percent from the line. The team totaled 12 steals, with Johnson recording four and senior Kingsley Edwards (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) adding three.
The Golden Knights started their comeback by going inside, getting back-to-back baskets from junior Marcus Johnson (Romulus, Mich./Schoolcraft CC) to get within two.
Fisk hit 4-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 16 points. Off the bench, Poindexter chipped in with 12 points and Robinson had 10 points for the Bison, who shot 40.4 percent overall and 63.6 percent from the charity stripe.
The Golden Knights kickoff a three-game road swing on Friday, Feb. 4, at Troy. Tip off is slated for 8 p.m.