McBride Goes for 31 in Win

Nov. 30, 2014

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com

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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Sophomore Justin McBride's best scoring output as a freshman was 13 points. In UCF's 75-67 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, the Knights' big man had 14 at halftime. McBride finished with 31 point and eight rebounds as UCF improved to 4-1 on the season.

The Knights scored first on a three-pointer by sophomore Brandon Goodwin at the end of the shot clock on the first possession of the game. Although the Wildcats (2-5) tied the game twice early in the first half, at 5-5 and 7-7, UCF never trailed in the contest.

UCF extended its lead to double digits at 28-18 on a layup by junior Daiquan Walker just over midway through the first period and led by as many as 12 late in the first before a bucket by B-CU's Ricky Johnson made it 39-30 in favor of the Knights at the break.

The margin hovered around 10 points through the first seven minutes of the second period, before the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to cut it to 53-51 with 11:21 to play. McBride stopped the run when he connected on a pair of free throws.

The Knights increased their lead back to eight points, at 65-57, when a dunk by junior Staphon Blair, a three-pointer from freshman Adonys Henriquez and a jumper by senior Kasey Wilson highlighted a 7-2 run with just over five minutes to play.

Bethune-Cookman never got closer than five points from that point on as UCF went on to win the game by the final score of 75-67.

MCBRIDE POURS IN CAREER BEST 31 POINTS
Playing against a number of teams that didn't match up well for the big man, McBride had only scored eight points in 28 minutes coming into Sunday's tilt with the Wildcats. The Knights had played four games. He wasn't playing up to the standards he or his coaches expected of him, but McBride continued to work in practice.

His work showed in improvement on the court Sunday. His 31 points against B-CU were more than his minutes played (28) through the first four games of the season. He outscored his previous career high by halftime and finished with 18 more than his previous best at the final buzzer.

"My teammates just found me. That's all it was. I was posting hard and my teammates just really made an effort to throw me the ball. They just found me. I started scoring a little bit and the basket got bigger and bigger. I was knocking down free throws, and it just felt good."
- Justin McBride

"I wanted to get him in early because I thought he had worked hard the last few days. I wanted to try and get him established and get him going. He just really, really played well. I was happy for him."
- Donnie Jones

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT (AUDIO)

KNIGHTS SHOOT WELL IN ALL THREE FACETS
* UCF shot 52.2 percent (24-for-46) from the floor.
* The Knights showed range again, shooting 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from three-point range.
* UCF got to the free throw line and knocked them down, going 19-for-25 (76.0 percent).

WILSON IN DOUBLE FIGURES AGAIN
- For the 38th time in his career, Kasey Wilson reached double figures.
- He was second on the team with 12 points and added six boards and three assists.
- Wilson has been in double figures in four straight games.

SHARING THE BASKETBALL
* The Knights shared the ball well on Sunday, assisting on 15 of their 24 field goals.
* Goodwin, who came into Sunday's game ranked third in the conference with 4.8 assists per game, led UCF with six dimes.
* Wilson, Henriquez, and Walker each had three assists on the night.
* The Knights turned the ball over only nine times.

POSTGAME AUDIO
Head Coach Donnie Jones

Kasey Wilson, Justin McBride

NEXT UP FOR THE KNIGHTS
UCF will end its six-game homestand to start the season on Tuesday. The Knights host Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. following the UCF women's basketball game at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday's tilt will air on ESPN3 and the UCF IMG Sports Network.

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