Jordan Burks hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and forced a turnover in the final 34 seconds as UCF rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to pull off a 79-76 Big 12 win over Arizona State on Tuesday night in Orlando, Fla.
Riley Kugel paced the Knights (16-4, 4-3 Big 12) with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Burks added 15 points and three steals while Jamichael Stillwell posted 14 points.
Maurice Odum produced 18 points and six assists for the Sun Devils (11-10, 2-6), who never trailed in the second half until 1:11 to go. Anthony Johnson added 12 points and Bryce Ford had 11.
UCF took its first lead of the second half on Carmelo Pacheco’s 3-pointer with 1:11 to go. Odum answered with a pair of free throws to regain a 1-point edge.
Burks then took a diagonal feed from Kugel and canned the wide-open 3-pointer for a 78-76 lead. After Burks swiped an Odum pass, Themus Fulks tacked on a free throw. Ford’s deep ball at the buzzer was errant to give the Knights the comeback victory.
UCF shot 45% from the floor and held a 40-28 advantage in rebounding. The Sun Devils hit 47% from the field and made 10 of 23 (43%) from deep.
UCF sprinted to a 9-2 lead behind Bol’s layup and dunk, but the Sun Devils battled back and grabbed a 12-11 lead on Johnson’s 27-footer three minutes later.
Nearing the 10-minute mark, Kugel faked a defender, drove to his right and threw down a vicious dunk for a 16-14 lead to bring the UCF crowd to life as part of a 7-0 run.
Allen Mukeba’s tomahawk dunk on a 3-point play put the Sun Devils up 24-22 at the 6:13 mark. Odom’s deep ball at 5:34 gave the visitors their largest lead at 27-22 on the way to a 39-35 lead at the break.
The second half was played tightly over the first eight minutes, with the Sun Devils holding a slim lead that extended to five, 52-47, on Andrija Grbovic’s trey at 11:22.
Grbovic stroked another 3-pointer and Noah Meeusen converted three free throws. Odum’s 3-pointer with 8:26 capped a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 61-51.
With 6:09 remaining, the lead grew to 70-58 on Massamba Diop’s two freebies — Arizona State’s largest advantage — but the Knights mounted a charge and tied it with 2:39 left on Fulks’ pair of free throws that wrapped an 11-0 run.
