ORLANDO, Fla. – Andrew Nicholson scored 20 points, but Central Florida’s Marcus Jordan had 18 to lead three Knights in double figures as UCF (20-11) earned a 69-54 victory over St. Bonaventure (16-15) in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational presented by Zebra Pen.
The Knights used a 12-1 run midway through the second half to take control of what had been a tight game throughout. Leading 48-45 after a technical free throw from St. Bonaventure’s Ogo Adegboye, the Knights rattled off eight unanswered over a 2:41 span that made it 56-45 and put the game out of reach. UCF went the final 4:30 without a field goal and sealed the win with nine straight points from the free throw line.
Adegboye tallied 13 points and six rebounds in a full 40 minutes in his final collegiate game.
A.J. Rompza finished with 13 points and seven assists and reserve 7-footer Tom Herzog added 10 on 5-of-5 from the floor to help UCF advance to a CBI quarterfinal matchup with Rhode Island. The Rams defeated Miami (Ohio) and will take on UCF on Monday.
St. Bonaventure ended the 2010-11 season by earning its first winning season and postseason tournament appearance a 17-13 record and NIT berth in 2001-02.
NOTES: Six teams that played in the 2010 CBI are NCAA tourney teams this year … the game featured nine left handed players …off-setting technicals were given to Adegboye and Jordan following contact and exchanged words after a foul under the Bonnies’ basket … Jordan is the son of hoops legend Michael Jordan … national minutes leader Adegboye played his eighth complete game of the season.
Enjoyed the notes at the end of this article….Go Rams vs UCF!!
Bonnies in the 2012 tournament. It has a nice ring to it.