Pember's 40, Abee's 3s in 2OT get UNC Asheville past UCF

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Drew Pember scored 40 points and UNC Asheville defeated UCF 98-95 in double overtime on Monday night in a season opener.

Pember knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game 76-76, and a last-second 3-point attempt from UCF was off the mark to force overtime.

It was 86-all at the end of the first overtime. In the second OT, Jamon Battle had a key three-point play and Fletcher Abee hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes. Abee’s last 3-pointer with 55 seconds left gave Asheville the lead for good.

Pember had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Tajion Jones added 20 points while going 7 of 12 (4 for 8 from distance), and he also had six rebounds. Nicholas McMullen went 5 of 5 from the field to finish with 11 points.

Taylor Hendricks led the Knights in scoring, finishing with 23 points, two steals and three blocks. UCF also got 20 points and two steals from CJ Kelly. In addition, Brandon Suggs finished with 16 points and four steals.

NEXT UP

UNC Asheville’s next game is Saturday against Brevard at home, and UCF hosts Florida State on Friday.

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The Associated Press created elements of this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.