Knights Edge Eckerd, 76-59

Nov. 20, 2014

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com

Box Score (pdf) | Box Score (html) | Social Media Recap | Quotes | Infographic | Photo Gallery

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Behind the hot hand of freshman Adonys Henriquez, the UCF men's basketball team outscored visiting Eckerd 41-22 in the second half to win 76-59 and improve to 2-0 on the season Thursday. Henriquez finished with a game high 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the victory.

"Obviously I'm happy with the win," UCF head coach Donnie Jones said. "We are a team that is still in transition and learning how to play together. I have to give it to Eckerd. They really competed. We knew coming in that they were tough. Tom [Ryan] does a great job with his team. They're very physical and have a great feel for how to play. I knew we'd be in for a battle."

After rushing out to a 20-8 advantage early in the first half, led in part by two three-pointers and a two-point basket by Henriquez, the Knights allowed Eckerd back into the game on four turnovers in a span of two minutes.

The Tritons cut the UCF advantage to two points, at 20-18, with 11:49 to play in the first and took their first lead at the 7:16 mark when two free throws by Jerrick Stevenson made it 29-27 in favor of Eckerd. The visiting team led by as many as three before ending the half with a 37-35 advantage.

Eckerd got out to their largest lead of the game, scoring the first four points of the second half, but the Knights quickly fought back with a 9-0 run capped by a driving layin by senior Kasey Wilson that put UCF in front 44-41 with 15:21 to play.

UCF was able to take a double digit lead, at 57-47, when Henriquez connected on back-to-back buckets curling off of screens on the wing. The Knights continued to grow their lead from there, finishing on an 11-4 run to win 76-59 when Henriquez knocked down his fifth triple of the contest.

KNIGHTS IMPRESSIVE FROM THE FLOOR
The Knights shot 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the floor in the first 20 minutes and finished the game 26-of-44 (59.1%). UCF went 10-of-20 (50%) from beyond the arc.

HENRIQUEZ ON FIRE FROM THREE
* The freshman went 5-of-7 from distance, including a 3-of-4 mark in the second half.
* Henriquez was 8-of-11 overall from the floor, showing the ability to knock down shots off screens from inside the arc.
* He is now 8-of-13 (61.5%) for the season after going 3-of-6 in the season opener against Stetson.

"Adonys can really shoot the ball and he had the hot hand tonight, so we had to find a way to get him the ball. I thought he did a good job shooting, but I was also proud that he had six rebounds. He needs to rebound the ball for us so that was huge."
- Donnie Jones

"It felt good. I felt like I had a good warm-up. My teammates felt like I was hot so they kept getting me the ball and I kept shooting it. If I was open I shot it, if I wasn't I moved the ball. I give my teammates the credit for getting me open shots."
- Adonys Henriquez

UCF CLAMPS DOWN IN SECOND HALF
In addition to playing more efficiently on the offensive end, the Knights were able to pick-up stop after stop in the second half to extend their lead. They held Eckerd to 31.0 percent shooting from the floor and held the Tritons without a three-pointer in the final 20 minutes (0-for7). It was Eckerd's five threes in the first that helped the Tritons take the lead.

The Knights continued to press throughout the contest, using it to their advantage, especially in the second half. Eckerd only finished with 11 turnovers, but Jones believes it was effective in other facets of the game.

"I thought we pressed very well throughout the game. It wasn't about turning them over. It was about them taking 8-10 seconds off the shot clock and not having a rhythm on offense. We worked on that a lot and I thought our guys did a good job with that."
- Donnie Jones

WILSON IN DOUBLE FIGURES
- The senior scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
- Wilson went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
- He added five rebounds and two blocks.

POSTGAME AUDIO
Head Coach Donnie Jones

Adonys Henriquez, Kasey Wilson

NEXT UP FOR THE KNIGHTS
UCF will host USC Upstate on Sunday at 6 p.m. The game between the Knights and the Spartans will air on ESPN3 and the UCF IMG Sports Network.

TWEET THIS