UCF fends off visit from Purdue Fort Wayne – Field Level Media – Professional Sports Content Solutions

UCF’s Jordan Ivy-Curry scored five of his game-high 18 points in 3:45 of Friday’s finale as the Knights pulled off an upset after pulling off one earlier in the week and defeated the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in Orlando 75- 68 defeated.

The Knights (2-0), whose fans stormed the court Monday after a surprising 64-61 win over No. 13 Texas A&M, trailed by four with 6:57 left Friday after Rasheed Bello hit his third three-pointer which reached 64:60.

However, UCF secured baskets from Ivy-Curry, 7-foot-11 freshman Moustapha Thiam and Darius Johnson within the final four minutes to secure the victory.

Ivy-Curry made 5 of 12 field goals and all eight free throws despite going 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 member of the Horizon League that won 23 games last season, got 11 points and six rebounds from Eric Mulder. Quinton Morton-Robertson had 11 points and five rebounds and Jalen Jackson totaled 10 points and seven rebounds.

Purdue Fort Wayne scored just one field goal and four points after Bello’s three-pointer.

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

After all the emotions that came with defeating the Aggies, UCF struggled early, missing its first nine shots. Meanwhile, the Mastodons’ Bello and Morton-Robertson each scored three points and secured the game’s only points in the first 6:23 minutes.

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

In nearly nine minutes early in the game, the two teams 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 sank 10 of 17 shots, including 5 of 6 runs.

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

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

–Field level media