The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team held off a late rally from visiting UCF to win its fourth consecutive game by single digits, 69-68, Sunday inside Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati (7-7, 5-4 AAC) has won four games in-a-row since coming off a 25-day pause for COVID-19 issues on Feb. 4, winning those contests by a combined nine points.
UCF (6-1, 4-10 AAC) trailed by six points or more on six occasions in the second half but still managed to pull within one three times, including a half-court heave by Darius Perry at the buzzer which accounted for the final margin.
UC's Mason Madsen had put the game out of reach seconds earlier after splitting a pair of free throws with two seconds left. Madsen had sunk a pair from the charity stripe with 11 seconds left to give UC a 68-65 edge. Madsen finished with a season-high eight points.
Keith Williams tallied 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists while David DeJulius also added 14 along with two assists and two steals. Chris Vogt grabbed eight rebounds and had 11 points and Mika-Adams Woods hit three triples on the way to 13 points and four boards off the bench.
The Knights' Brandon Mahan scored 21 to lead all players on the day. He added seven rebounds. Perry finished with 17 and four assists while CJ Walker had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Dre Fuller Jr. came off the bench to score 11.
UC did a lot of its damage in the paint, scoring 32 of its 69 points inside. The Bearcats controlled the boards by a 39-29 margin with a 12-10 edge on the offensive glass.
UP NEXT
UC travels to face nationally ranked Houston on Sunday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.