Keith Clanton had 28 points, tying his career high, and 14 rebounds and Central Florida used a second-half surge to beat College of Charleston 74-63 on Thursday in the opener of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Central Florida will face defending national champion Connecticut in the second round Friday. The fourth-ranked Huskies beat UNC Asheville 73-63 for their 16th straight victory.
With the Central Florida (3-1) ahead 44-42, Andrew Lawrence hit two straight 3-pointers and Matt Sundberg knocked down one to give Charleston (3-1) a 51-44 lead with 11:06 left.
Central Florida rallied to tie it for the ninth time, at 58-58 with 7:34 remaining, and the Knights then went on an 11-2 run, capped by Tristan Spurlock's dunk with 1:35 to go, to pull away.
Marcus Jordan added 17 points and and six assists for Central Florida, and Isaiah Sykes had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Knights dominated the boards 44-25.
Trent Wiedeman had 19 points for Charleston, coming off a 72-69 win at Clemson, and Lawrence had 14.
