Dec. 21, 2013
Final Stats
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By Doug Richards
UCFKnights.com
Box Score in PDF Format ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - A huge second half run helped the UCF men's basketball team post an 86-58 victory over Rio Grande Saturday in the first game of the Jackson Hewitt UCF Holiday Classic at CFE Arena. Kasey Wilson led the Knights (7-3) with 19 points and nine boards.
The win was the fourth in a row for UCF, who will conclude the holiday event Sunday, hosting Valparaiso at 2:30 p.m.
After the Knights dominated in the opening stanza, Rio Grande cut the hosts' edge to five points early in the second half. UCF head coach Donnie Jones inserted three reserve guards - Isaac Lang, Matt Williams and Daiquan Walker - into the lineup and the group sparked a 20-5 run that allowed UCF to roll to the win.
Lang, who entered the game having only logged six minutes on the year, hit a pair of triples and Williams capped the spurt with a 3-pointer with 11:27 to go that gave UCF a 61-40 edge.
"The change was energy and effort," Jones said. "We also had execution and when you have those three things you have a chance to win games. I am really proud of the guys who came off the bench. You saw Isaac Lang come in. He hit a couple of threes, but it was about his energy and his attitude. That is contagious."
The Knights led by as many as 19 points in the opening stanza, which was filled with dunks and 3-pointers. Wilson had nine points in the first half and Tristan Spurlock provided a highlight at the 7:20 mark when he soared for a dunk off a nifty feed from Calvin Newell to give the hosts a 33-14 advantage.
UCF shot 50.0 percent for the game and made 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) of its triples. Walker added 11 points off the bench. The Knights limited the RedStorm to 36.5 percent shooting and a 3-of-27 (11.1 percent) effort from 3-point range.