Good-Win

Jan. 6, 2015

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com

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HOUSTON, Texas (UCFKnights.com) - Sophomore Brandon Goodwin played the hero for the UCF men's basketball team in a 79-78 overtime victory over Houston Tuesday night at Hofheinz Pavilion.

The point guard scored a career high 30 points, grabbed a season high seven boards and handed out five assists, but that wasn't the half of it. Goodwin not only sent the game into extra time with a 30-foot dagger with three seconds remaining in regulation, but he also knocked down a step back three to win the game with less than two seconds on the clock in overtime.

"They were like, 'we need the ball in your hands'," Goodwin said of his teammates near the end of regulation. "At that point I was just thinking I have to hit this shot. I had a good feel for the ball and it just went in."

Goodwin, who came into Tuesday night's game just 4-of-15 from beyond the arc on the season, went 4-of-6 from long distance against the Cougars. He had never made more than one three-pointer in a game in his short career.

"Coach was screaming at me to go to the basket, but I couldn't understand what he was saying," Goodwin said of the final play in overtime. "I did the same thing [as at the end of regulation]. I just let it go and it felt good."

When the Knights needed to extend the game by trading baskets for free throws late in regulation, it was Goodwin who used his lightning speed to take the ball coast-to-coast for layups three times in the final 45 seconds to keep UCF in the game.

"He's a great competitor," UCF head coach Donnie Jones said of Goodwin after the game. "He has taken the coaching well and he's growing. He just continues to make plays. His conditioning is out of this world. He never gets tired. He plays at a high level every possession."

The Knights had to dig themselves out of a double digit hole in the second half thanks to a 21-0 run by the Cougars to start the frame. Houston went from down 12 at the break to leading by nine points, at 51-42, just over five minutes into the second.

UCF wasn't able to cut into the deficit until a free throw by sophomore Justin McBride sparked a 7-0 spurt that brought the Knights within four points when senior Kasey Wilson hit a pair from the stripe to make it 66-62 with just 3:55 to play.

It was Wilson again just over two minutes later who hit a clutch three-pointer to pull the Knights within three points, at 69-66 with 1:46 on the clock. It was from there that UCF and Houston traded buckets for free throws until the Cougars held their 75-72 lead with seven seconds remaining.

With no timeouts left, Goodwin took the ball from his own end down the court and stepped right up to nail the 30-footer that sent the game into overtime.

The overtime period was odd in that the only scoring for the first 4:58 was four free throws, Houston with three and UCF with just one. Trailing by two, Jones called a timeout to set up a play.

When that play eventually broke down, Goodwin took it upon himself to be the hero. He gathered the ball in the backcourt and sized up his defender. As the clock wound down, the sophomore crossed over twice and pulled up from a couple feet beyond the line and hit it with just 1.1 seconds on the clock.

GOODWIN'S CAREER KNIGHT
- Tuesday's hero scored 30 points on 12-of-17 from the floor and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
- His previous career best was 16 points at Florida State earlier this season.
- Goodwin added seven rebounds and five assists in the victory.
- The Norcross, Ga. native scored the final 13 points of the game for UCF.

HENRIQUEZ AND MCBRIDE ALSO IN DOUBLE FIGURES
- Freshman Adonys Henriquez scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.
- He reached double figures for the 10th time this season and the fifth game in a row.
- McBride chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the win.
- The big man went 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the free throw line before fouling out.

KNIGHTS USE BOX-AND-ONE ON HOUSTON'S SHARPSHOOTER
UCF used a box-and-one defense to hold down the Cougars' three-point specialist Jherrod Stiggers. The second leading scorer in the conference finished with 20 points, but went just 5-of-14 from the floor. When the Knights went to the specialty defense in the second half they were able to make their run to get back into the game. Henriquez was tasked with face guarding Stiggers, while the other four Knights handled the rest of the Cougars.

POSTGAME AUDIO
Head Coach Donnie Jones

Sophomore Brandon Goodwin

NEXT UP FOR THE KNIGHTS
UCF will return home on Wednesday and begin preparing for Sunday's tilt with SMU. The Knights and the Mustangs are scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and the UCF IMG Sports Network. Get your tickets for the game by clicking here.

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