The UCF Citronauts proved themselves against a tough opponent in the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, coming out on top in a 83-75 victory at Addition Financial Arena on Saturday.
UCF was not only able to take down its conference opponent, but it also looked good doing it as the team sported new space-themed uniforms.
The Citronauts dominated the Golden Hurricanes early in the game. The first half saw a three-point clinic with UCF making a mouth-watering eight three-pointers in fourteen attempts.
Four of those long balls came from UCF freshman Darrin Green Jr., who led all scorers with 14 points. However, it was UCF’s ability to move the ball around that set them up for a 29-37 first-half lead.
The Citronauts were able to dish out nine assists in the first half of play, continuing off of their strong passing game from a 68-64 road win against the ECU Pirates on Thursday.
UCF’s ball movement was the biggest factor in opening up the three-point shot, which allowed them to take such a big lead in the first half.
UCF also dominated on the other side of the ball, holding Tulsa to 41% shooting from the field — UCF redshirt freshman Dre Fuller Jr. played a big role in UCF’s ability to block any inside shots, swatting away four of the five the team had.
The second half was more of the same for the Citronauts as shot after shot continued to fall.
UCF added four more three-pointers to its already staggering number, along with an efficient 56% shooting to finish the game.
Green Jr. continued his stellar performance knocking down two more threes to top off a career-high 26 points.
UCF redshirt junior Ceasar DeJesus also had an impressive game, scoring a total of 18 points, shooting 8-for-13 from field goal range and had five assists.
With its victory, UCF moves to 13-10 on the season and 4-7 in conference play.
The Citronauts look to improve their hot streak to three wins in a row against the Wichita State University Shockers on Thursday at Addition Financial Arena.
