Make that two straight wins for the UCF men’s basketball team.
Keith Clanton scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds and Marcus Jordan knocked down six crucial free throws late as the Knights (16-8, 3-8 in Conference USA) escaped with a 65-62 win over Tulane on Wednesday night, winning their second game in a row after dropping eight straight following a 14-0 start to the season.
With the win, the Knights eclipsed their win total from all of last season.
Tied at 58 with just over two minutes left in the game, Isaac Sosa knocked down a 3-pointer for the Knights giving them a 61-58 lead with 1:47 remaining. After a missed Jordan Callahan shot, Tulane was forced to foul as they put Jordan at the line. The sophomore hit six free throws down the stretch and a last-second comeback attempt by the Green Wave fell short as the Knights won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Princeton and Marshall towards the end of December and early January.
A.J. Tyler scored 12 points and Jordan, who didn’t start the game due to a back injury, added 10 for the Knights, who shot 48.8 percent from the field for the game. UCF trailed Tulane by as much as 11 midway through the second half, but a Tyler 3-point basket with 6:41 remaining gave the Knights the lead for good.
UCF will be back on the hardcourt on Saturday when they take on UAB on the road. The Knights lost to the Blazers in their first meeting, a 74-69 defeat back in Orlando on Jan. 29.
