KANSAS CITY, Mo. — — Jamichael Stillwell had 17 factors and 15 rebounds, Riley Kugel added 15 factors, and eighth-seeded UCF rallied to beat ninth-seeded Cincinnati 66-65 in additional time on Thursday and advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
John Bol scored 13 factors for the Knights (21-10), who trailed by as many as 12 in regulation, then watched because the Bearcats’ Jalen Celestine missed a possible go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in additional time to earn a date with top-ranked Arizona on Thursday.
Moustapha Thiam had 18 factors and 16 boards to steer the Bearcats (18-15). Day Day Thomas had all of their seven factors in additional time and completed with 15, whereas Celestine had 11 factors and Keyshuan Tillery completed with 10.
The Knights received regardless of going 3 of 24 from past the 3-point arc.
Cincinnati had taken management with about 10 minutes to go, when Thomas was fouled by Kugel about 30 ft from the basket and the shot-clock operating out. His two free throws gave the Bearcats a 46-37 lead, and Stillwell instantly picked up his fourth foul on the different finish, sending the Knights’ finest rebounder to the bench.
UCF nonetheless confronted a 58-50 gap with about two minutes to go when Stillwell hit a tender jumper within the lane. Cincinnati proceeded to show the ball over on three straight possessions, and Kugel’s driving layup tied the sport 58-all with a minute to go.
The Bearcats had the ultimate shot of regulation, however Thiam did not seem to appreciate the clock was about to run out. Cincinnati coach Wes Miller frantically known as timeout from the bench, however there was solely 0.8 seconds left — time sufficient for an airballed 3-point strive.
The Knights misplaced their solely sport to the top-seeded Wildcats in mid-January.
Cincinnati should hope a first-round win over Utah within the Big 12 tourney will get it off the NCAA Tournament bubble on Sunday.
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