CINCINNATI — Dan Skillings Jr. scored 21 points, John Newman III added 19 and Cincinnati pulled away in the last five minutes to beat UCF 68-57 on Saturday night.
Newman's dunk tied the game 52-all with 5:15 remaining and sparked an 18-5 run to end it. Skillings and Newman each scored seven points during the stretch. The Bearcats shot 64% (14 of 22) from the floor and outscored UCF 41-18 in the second half.
Cincinnati (14-6, 3-4 Big 12), which entered having completed a six-game stretch against ranked teams, trailed UCF 39-27 at halftime. The Knights shot 52% in the first half but cooled to 21% (6 of 29) after the break.
Skillings was 8 of 14 from the floor and hit two 3-pointers for Cincinnati. Newman made 6 of 10 field goals and 7 of 9 free throws. They each grabbed seven of the Bearcats' 39 rebounds.
Jaylin Sellers and Marchelus Avery scored 19 points apiece to lead UCF (12-7, 3-4). Avery scored 16 points, Sellers added 12 and the pair combined for five 3-pointers in the first half.
UCF hosts No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday.
Cincinnati plays at West Virginia on Wednesday.
