November 30, 2002
   


NEW ORLEANS - Senior Ray Abellard hit seven of his nine free-throws in the final two-and-a-half-minutes en route to a 22-point game as UCF turned back host Tulane, 66-61, in the University Hoops Classic at Fogelman Arena Friday evening.

The Golden Knights jumped out to an early 16-8 lead to start the game behind the hot shooting of freshman guard Troy Lindbeck, who was making his first career start for UCF. Lindbeck, who finished with a career high 13 points, connected on three shots from behind the arc in the opening six minutes.

After an Ed Dotson jumper put the Knights up by nine, 24-15, with just over nine minutes remaining, UCF (2-1) went cold as they would not hit a field goal for the remainder of the first half. A pair of Al Miller free throws with 3:47 left before the half ended the scoring drought. The UCF defense was able to limit the Green Wave to just eight points in the final nine minutes, while adding three more free throws to carry a 29-23 advantage into halftime.

UCF came out firing to start the second half as they raced out to a 37-26 advantage behind six points from Dotson. Tulane (2-2) quickly bridged the gap as Ben Benfield hit three-point shots on consecutive trips down the floor to cut the Knights lead to 37-32. Brandon Brown then hit a pair of buckets to bring the Green Wave within one at 37-36.
The Green Wave grabbed its first lead since going up 2-0 to start the game, when Brandon Spann hit a three-pointer with 13:58 left in the game. After a pair of Abellard free throws knotted the game at 41 all, the UCF defense again rose to the occasion holding Tulane scoreless for the next six minutes, while the Knights put together a 14-0 run to go up 55-41 for its largest lead of the game.

UCF shot just 38 percent from the floor on 21-of-54 shooting. The Knights struggled from behind the arc shooting just 27 percent, but hit six timely three-point shots. The difference in the game was rebounding as UCF enjoyed a 43-34 advantage on the glass. Abellard and Lindbeck were the only UCF players to finish in double figures. Marius Boyd grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. As a team, UCF hit 18-of-21 shots from the charity stripe.
Tulane was led by Spann and Brown who scored 17 points a piece. Brown also led the Green Wave pulling down eight rebounds. They shot 37 percent from the floor and hit seven shots from behind the arc.

    The Golden Knights will return to action again on Saturday, Nov. 30 for a 5 p.m. match-up with Maine. Tulane defeated the Black Bears 84-65 on the opening night of the tournament.

 

Return to Home