Men's Hoops Rolls Towson, 86-61Men's Hoops Rolls Towson, 86-61

Men's Hoops Rolls Towson, 86-61

by Cam Costa
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ORLANDO - UCF men’s hoops put together a dominant victory over Towson Sunday evening in Addition Financial Arena, never trailing a single second. The victory moves the Knights to 8-1 on the season, marking the best start under head coach Johnny Dawkins since his arrival in 2016.

“I was happy about the physicality, especially in the the first half. I thought the second half we weren’t as physical... But overall, I was happy with that. That’s something that we want to bring out. We want our identity to be on the defensive end. Toughness and physicality, it’s part of how you have to defend. And I thought our guys did bring some of that throughout the game.”

Head Coach Johnny DawkinsOn The Team's Physicality

A pair of scoring runs gave UCF all the first-half momentum. The Black and Gold forced an early 5:42 scoring drought to capitalize on a 10-0 run to put the Knights up 15-5 with 12:05 remaining. The Knights strung together a 13-4 run to take a 34-15 advantage and force a Towson timeout with just over five minutes left to play in the first.

UCF maintained its control, closing the first frame with a 20-point lead, 47-27.  The Knights shot 55% from the field and 9-for-11 from the stripe. The defense made its presence known on the perimeter, holding the Tigers to 2-of-12 from the three-point range. Themus Fulks led the way in scoring, dropping 15 points on 6-7 from the floor. 

Fulks finished the game with his first 20-point performance as a Knight and assisted the ball eight times, maintaining his top spot in the Big 12 for number of assists (67) and assists per game (7.4). Jamichael Stillwell also reached double-figures, scoring 15 points, while picking up six rebounds.

For a majority of the second half, Towson matched UCF’s scoring efficiency, but a late 12-0 scoring run alongside a 5:12 drought by the Tigers gave the Knights a 79-51 lead with five minutes remaining. Despite the back-and-forth play to close out the second frame, the Knights prevailed over the Tigers, 86-61.

The Knights now extend their win streak to seven, the best since their March Madness appearance season in 2019, in which they also matched a seven-game streak from Dec. 8 to Jan. 13.

UP NEXT
UCF will remain in Addition Financial for a home matchup against Mercer on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
UCF men's basketball single-match and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action at Addition Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.

ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.