Aces travel to Gulf Coast Showcase this week
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A late run in the first half keyed a second-half spurt that saw UCF pick up a 75-59 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team inside the Ford Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the Knights (4-0) hanging on to a 4-point lead in the final minute of the first half, they wrapped up the period on a 5-0 run before pulling away in the second half.
“We have played good teams so far, but I thought all around that UCF was the most difficult test so far. I thought our guys responded very well and played better today, which was encouraging,†UE head coach Todd Lickliter commented. “We always play to win, without question, but we prepared well and a challenge like we faced today will help us grow.â€
Leading the Purple Aces (2-3) was Shamar Givance, who scored 14 points, was 4-for-7 from outside and led all players with six assists. Noah Frederking was 5-of-7 from the field on his way to 12 points while Jawaun Newton recorded 10 points. Evan Kuhlman led the way on the boards, tying for the top total in the game with six caroms.
UCF saw Darin Green Jr. lead all scorers with 17 while Darius Perry and Tyem Freeman finished with 15 and 11, respectively.
Triples were falling early in the contest with the first four baskets coming from outside leading to a 6-6 score. Noah Frederking and Jawaun Newton hit early triples for UE. A jumper by Evan Kuhlman put the Aces in front by an 8-6 tally before the Knights hit another triple to take their first lead at 9-8. Two more triples found their way through the next for UCF to help them push the lead to six at 22-16.
Blaise Beauchamp got UE right back in it, converting a 4-point play with 11:24 on the clock to make it a 2-point game. Two minutes later, a layup by Frederking made it a 2-point game once again before UCF turned up the defensive intensity keeping UE scoreless for a span of 5:20 while pushing the lead to a game-high eight points. Evansville went 0-for-5 while turning it over twice during that stretch.
Shamar Givance knocked down his second triple of the half to end the stretch and get the Aces back within five, but a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Knights sent them to the break with a 39-30 lead. Givance scored nine in the opening period, all coming from outside. The teams combined to hit 13 triples in the first half.
The first seven minutes of the second half saw UCF add to its lead, going up by a 51-36 score with just over 13 minutes left in the contest. As the game approached eight minutes remaining, the Knights’ lead stood at 61-43. Evansville worked to claw back with Gage Bobe knocking down a triple before Newton made a nice play to finish off a layup, but UCF would respond to take its largest lead of the day of 21 points inside of the 7-minute mark. Evansville closed in the late minutes before the Knights secured the 75-59 win.
Both teams finished with 10 3-point makes but it was UCF completing the day shooting 49.1% with the Aces finishing at 43.5%. The Knights also finished with a 32-23 rebounding advantage.
Following a travel day on Sunday, the Aces will be taking part in the Gulf Coast Showcase, which opens on Monday morning with a 10 a.m. CT game against Rice in Fort Myers, Fla.
