UCF Guard Has Bounce Back Game Against Mercer
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Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, UCF Knights guard Riley Kugel could not be stopped.
Through the Knights' first seven games, Kugel scored no less than 12 points and shot no worse than 41.7% from the floor, helping him reach the top five in the Big 12 in field goals made, three-pointers made, points and more.
However, for the next two games, Kugel's season-opening hot streak came crashing down as he shot 3-20 from the floor, which included going 0-8 against VMI. The Mississippi State transfer still found other ways to contribute, pulling down four rebounds against VMI and then getting two blocks against Towson, but the scoring spotlight had moved to his teammates like Jamichael Stillwell and Themus Fulks.
"That don't really mean too much," Fulks said after the Knights' game against Towson. "Riley's more about winning and losing, you know, he care more about wins and losses, and I think he had six points today, but you know he was one of the happiest guys in the locker room because he played good defense and we got the win."
Heading into Wednesday night's game against Mercer, it had been over three weeks since Kugel's last time scoring double-digit points. However, the Knights only played two games during that stretch and it had been 10 days since their last game, off-time that Kugel took advantage of.
For the first time since Nov. 25, Kugel reached the double-digits, finishing just one shy of the game's leading scorer with 16 points. However, this time, it was not because of his three-point shooting, which he shot 0-4 from there, but because of his free-throw shooting. He ended up tying his career high by sinking 6-8 from the charity stripe, accounting for just under half of UCF's production there for the night.
"I saw a young man that was aggressive," coach Johnny Dawkins said on Wednesday night. "He was in attack mode, and he has to be that way for who he is as a player and for what we want from him; he has to stay in and stay engaged like that, and I thought he did that tonight."
Kugel may not yet have rediscovered his touch from beyond the arc just yet, which helped extend his streak of games shooting under 40% from the floor to three, but thanks to still getting shots off and getting to the free-throw line, he was once again back among UCF's offensive leaders.
"I feel like, you know, he's finding his way back, trying to get back to himself, you know," Stillwell said on Wednesday night. "I feel like he's getting there, though, you know, just got to finish a couple pointers around the basket, but, you know, he's still Riley."
The Knights have a quicker turnaround time before their next game as they host Florida Gulf Coast at Addition Financial Arena on Saturday.
Catch more UCF news below:
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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