Jan. 24, 2014
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By Andy Seeley
UCFKnights.com
CINCINNATI, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) - A strong start to the second half led No. 15 Cincinnati (18-2, 6-0) to a 69-51 victory over UCF (9-8, 1-5) in American Athletic Conference action Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena.
The Knights held a 13-9 lead early in the contest, behind a game-opening 3-pointer from Matt Williams and a pair of quick buckets for Eugene McCrory. Cincinnati responded and pushed out to a 27-18 lead.
Despite falling behind by nine with just more than three minutes left in the opening half, UCF was in the game at the intermission, thanks to a late surge. The Knights put together a 9-2 spurt to pull within three, 30-27. A pair of layups from Calvin Newell and a 3-pointer by Kasey Wilson sparked the spurt.
But Cincinnati opened the second half with an 18-5 run. The Bearcats grabbed a 48-32 advantage just more than five minutes into the second half. Cincinnati eventually led by as many as 20 points later in the second half. UCF trimmed its deficit to 13 on four occasions, but could get no closer over the remainder of the contest.
The Knights were paced by Calvin Newell and Staphon Blair. Newell came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points, his first double-figure scoring contest since Dec. 11 in a victory over Howard. Blair responded to his fifth start - and first in league play - with a career-high 11 points before fouling out with five minutes remaining.
The Knights shot 38.5 percent from the field, hitting 20-of-52 shots. UCF was just 6-of-17 from the free-throw line and was out-rebounded 36-30. Cincinnati hit just more than 47 percent of its field-goal attempts. The Bearcats had three double-figure scorers and were led by Sean Kilpatrick, who tallied game-high 19 points.
The Knights are back in action again Wednesday, when they host nationally-ranked Memphis at CFE Arena. The Knights-Tigers matchup is slated for 7 p.m. ET.