Jan. 11, 2014
Box Score
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andy Seeley
UCFKnights.com
UCF opened the first half with a 6-0 run at UConn Saturday night. The Knights (9-5, 1-2 The American) put together an 8-1 spurt to start the second half. But UConn (13-3, 1-2) overcame the hot starts to each half and posted an 84-61 victory in American Athletic Conference action at Gampel Pavilion.
UCF shot just 31.3 percent for the contest, while UConn converted at a 46 percent clip. The Knights, who came into the contest leading the league in rebounding, saw the Huskies put up a 50-34 advantage on the glass. Taking advantage of that rebounding edge, UConn outscored the Knights 21-10 in second-chance points.
After UCF's quick start, UConn tried to pull away midway through the first half, building a nine-point advantatge. But a pair of Matt Williams three-pointers, sandwiched around an Isaiah Sykes bucket, pulled the Knights back within one, 22-21. The Huskies finished the first half with a 13-3 spurt and took an 11-point edge into the locker room at halftime, 35-24.
Once again, the Knights sliced into the deficit. Kasey Wilson hit a three-pointer and Tristan Spurlock converted an old-fashioned three-point play in the first two minutes of the second half, leading to the 8-1 outburst. That pulled UCF within four, 36-32.
Twice more UConn built an 11-point lead. But the Knights hung around. When Williams hit his third three-pointer of the game with 13:16 remaining, it pulled UCF within six, 45-39. But that was as close as the Knights would get. UConn, paced by Amida Brimah, pulled away from there.
"Offense dictates defense," UCF head coach Donnie Jones said after the game, indicating poor shot selection played a part in UConn distancing themselves from the Knights in the second half. "We didn't really turn the ball over as much tonight, but sometimes our shots hurt us and led to giving up buckets in transition."
Brimah scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked five shots. Shabazz Napier scored 14 points, including seven at the free-throw line, and dished out 11 assists to record a double-double.
Sykes led the way for UCF. He scored 17 points and dished out four of UCF's seven assists. Eugene McCrory was also in double figures with 12 points and recorded a game-high nine rebounds. Spurlock added 11 for the Knights.
"We've got to regroup. We can't get down," Jones said. "We've got to be able to learn from this. We'll watch film. We'll have a chance to practice for a couple days. This is a tough league. Night in and night out it's going to be a different battle."
UCF will be back in action again Wednesday night at Rutgers. TIpoff vs. the Scarlet Knights is set for 7 p.m. ET.