Feb. 19, 2014
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By Andy Seeley
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - An ice-cold first half and a Top 10 opponent made for a bad mix for the Knights Wednesday night. No. 7 Cincinnati (24-3, 13-1 American Athletic Conference) took advantage of the Knights' scoring struggles and took a 77-49 victory over UCF (10-14, 2-11) at CFE Arena.
The Knights led 4-2 on an Isaiah Sykes layup with 17:40 left in the first half. But UCF wouldn't score again for more than eight minutes. In the meantime, Cincinnati built a 19-4 advantage. The Knights remained cool for much of the first half and the Bearcats continued to build the lead.
Cincinnati eventually pushed out to a 25-point lead late in the first half. The Knights finally got a couple shots to fall at the end of the half, but were only able to cut the deficit to 22, going into the locker room down 40-18. It was the lowest first-half scoring output of the season for UCF.
"We had a number of shots that were in-and-out," UCF head coach Donnie Jones said of the first half. "Tristan (Spurlock), Calvin (Newell), Sykes ... they all had a couple that didn't go. But you have to get back on defense. When shots aren't falling, you still have to get stops and we weren't That's how you get behind by that much in a game like this."
The Knights competed more in the second half. Newell buried back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half. UCF outscored Cincinnati 10-5 to open the half and pull within 17. But Cincinnati pushed its advantage out to 20-plus once again and cruised to the 28-point victory.
"Give Cincinnati credit. They are a very good defensive team," Jones said. "They've been doing this to a lot of teams this season. They're a Top 10 team for a reason. We competed better in the second half. But we still weren't where we need to be for 40 minutes."
Sykes led the way for UCF with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance. It was his fourth double-double of the season and the 11th of his career. Justin McBride and Newell each tacked on eight points for the Knights. Sean Kilpatrick scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-12 from three-point range.
UCF will be in action again Saturday afternoon at Houston.