NEW ORLEANS – Freshman Isaiah Adams scored a career-high 26 points and nearly set a program record by going a near-perfect 10-for-11 from the field to lead the UCF men's basketball team past Tulane 84-81 at Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse Saturday.
Adams, who burst onto the scene with 22 points in the Knights' early season win at Florida State back on Dec. 19, had struggled offensively as of late. The former Florida High School Mr. Basketball had not scored in double figures since Jan. 30, totaling just 16 points in his last six games.
But after coming off the bench just over five minutes into Saturday's contest, and scoring his first basket over 10 minutes into the game, Adams took off.
He scored 14 points in the first half, helping to dig the Knights (8-11, 6-10) out of an early hole.
"There was a stretch where I wasn't doing what I could offensively," Adams said. "This game it was just getting back in my rhythm. I (got) my groove back and we were back to playing basketball. They wanted me to stay ready and I was."
Tulane (9-9, 4-9) scored the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 11 points before Adams and UCF rushed back to take a late first-half five-point advantage before heading into the break down just one, at 37-36.
The Knights shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and went 6-of-13 from 3-point range, assisting on 10 of their 14 field goals.
After the half, UCF used a 12-0 run, including nine straight from Adams himself, to take a 71-60 lead with 7:51 to play.
Helping Adams along the way in the final 20 minutes were Darius Perry and C.J. Walker, who had 17 and 12 points, respectively, in the second half.
Perry finished with 20 on 6-of-9 shooting from long distance, adding seven assists and two steals, while Walker totaled 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the free throw line, a team-high six rebounds, and three blocked shots.
The Knights held off the Green Wave's surge in the final minutes to grab the three-point win and sweep Tulane in the season series.
"We knew they weren't going to give up," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We've watched enough film to know they always come back."
UCF's 54.9 percent shooting from the field was its second-best outing of the season, while its 53.8 percent mark from 3-point range and 14 threes were bests this year. It marked the third time in the last games that the Knights connected on double digit 3-pointers.
The offense was flowing all day thanks to a season-high 22 assists on 28 made field goals. Adams finished 10-of-11 from the field, which is tied for the seventh best single-game shooting performance in program history.
UCF will now have a week off of competition and return to action next Saturday, Feb. 27, hosting Temple at Addition Financial Arena.
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