UCF knocks off No. 11 Texas Tech for second Big 12 upset
Point guard Themus Fulks totaled 21 points and seven assists and hit a key jump shot late to lead UCF to its second win over a Top 25 team with an 88-80 Big 12 victory over No. 11 Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon in Orlando, Fla.
The Knights (17-4, 6-3 Big 12) led the majority of the game and fought off every surge by the Red Raiders (16-5, 6-2) to inspire their crowd to storm the court for the second time this season. The first came after an 81-75 stunner over then-No. 17 Kansas to open conference play on Jan. 3.
Jordan Burks tallied 17 points for UCF while 7-foot-2 sophomore John Bol scored a career-high 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. Jamichael Stillwell added 10 points, 10 boards and four assists as the Knights won their third straight conference game for the first time since joining the Big 12 for the 2023-24 season.
JT Toppin posted 27 points and 10 boards to pace Texas Tech, which lost its season-high five-game winning streak. Christian Anderson had 17 points and nine assists and Donovan Atwell added 11 points.
Wearing its blue uniforms in a "Space" game honoring nearby Cape Canaveral, the Knights launched to a 7-2 lead on five points from Burks.
A 14-4 run by the visitors, capped by LeJuan Watts' layup at the 9:05 mark, gave the Red Raiders a 24-22 lead.
UCF responded with an 8-1 stretch behind deep shots from Carmelo Pacheco and Riley Kugel that made it 34-27 with 5:16 remaining.
To close the half's scoring, Stillwell sank two free throws as an injury replacement for Bol to give UCF a 44-40 halftime lead. The Knights shot 53.1% in the first half while Red Raiders cashed 55.6%.
Bol returned in the second half to continue his career day. He converted a 3-point play at 15:42 to increase the lead to 57-50, but Toppin heated up and reached 22 points with a trey to cut it to 65-60.
Texas Tech connected on eight straight field goal attempts, but Pacheco's long ball at 9:48 put it at 71-67. Fulks made it 75-69 with a layup to set up the final push with 6:44 left.
Fulks added a jumper with 1:27 left to restore an 83-79 lead, then Chris Johnson's dunk with 28 seconds left sealed the upset.