ORLANDO — Carmelo Pacheco hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points, Riley Kugel scored 16 and UCF never trailed Tuesday night as the Knights beat Florida A&M 97-60.
Kugel was 6-of-10 shooting, 3 of 3 from behind the arc. George Beale Jr. had 10 points for UCF (2-1) and Themus Fulks added six points, six rebounds and six assists.
Six different UCF players scored in a 17-1 run, which included back-to-back 3-pointers by Jamichael Stillwell and Kugel, that made it 19-3 just more than seven minutes into the game as the Rattlers missed nine consecutive field-goal attempts.
UCF, which lost 100% of its scoring from last season and is one of five (Baylor, Miami, Indiana and West Virginia) Power Four teams without any returning scoring, shot 55% (36 of 66) and made 13 of 20 (65%) from 3-point range. The Knights outrebounded FAMU 48-24 and outscored the Rattlers 17-2 in second-chance points.
Anthony Knowles led Florida A&M (0-3) with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, all from 3-point range.
First-year FAMU coach Charlie Ward, who starred in basketball and football — winning the 1993 Heisman Trophy — at Florida State before he played 12 seasons in the NBA, remains in search of his first win.
