Blacked Out

Feb. 11, 2015

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com

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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - In his first game back since suffering a concussion on Jan. 31, senior Kasey Wilson came off the bench to lead UCF to a 73-62 victory over visiting USF Wednesday at CFE Arena. Wilson scored a season high 18 points and tied a career best with 11 boards to record his third double-double of the season.

"We were as low as we probably could have been after the loss at East Carolina," Jones said. "It seemed we couldn't get over the hump. We had a long talk before practice on Monday about enjoying each other and having a bounce back spirit. These guys responded to it tonight."

Feeding off the energy of a season high 6,201 in attendance and a packed student section, the Knights used a 14-0 first half run to take a commanding 26-11 lead 12 minutes into the game. Wilson and junior Daiquan Walker knocked down threes to ignite the spurt, while junior Staphon Blair capped it with a thunderous dunk.

"The students were huge tonight," UCF head coach Donnie Jones said. "I want to thank the students and the Knightmare section for coming out strong. Our guys brought that up right off the bat in the locker room. The energy that they provided tonight, and all the fans, made a great atmosphere for our players."

USF fought back and cut the Knights' lead to just nine points at the break. After two free throws by freshman B.J. Taylor, the Bulls' Anthony Collins knocked down a jumper to make it 35-26 UCF at halftime.

The Bulls connected on back-to-back buckets to start the second half, cutting UCF's lead to just five points, but the Knights responded. UCF used a 15-4 spurt to extend its lead to 50-34 with just over 10 minutes to play in the game. Wilson scored nine points during the stretch.

"He had a great effort tonight. I'm proud of Kasey," Jones said of Wilson after the game. "He hasn't practiced in 10 days and just got cleared to play today, so after the game I told him he didn't have to practice anymore. Just show up to the games."

UCF increased the lead to as many as 20 and the Bulls cut it to just nine points with under four minutes to play, but the game was never really in doubt as the Knights cruised to the 73-62 victory.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

WILSON WORKS DOUBLE-DOUBLE
He played just three minutes at SMU before taking an elbow to the head and sidelining him for the rest of the game. Wilson then missed the Knights' game at ECU because of the concussion he suffered. The UCF senior came back to practice on Tuesday and was cleared to play Wednesday afternoon.

Coming off the bench, Wilson was effective early and often, scoring a season best 18 points and tying a career high with 11 rebounds. It was his third double-double of the season and sixth of his career as a Knights. The North Port, Fla. native went 7-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc in the victory.

"Kasey really brought great energy. He had some big rebounds too in momentum situations. When the momentum might have been shifting their way, he made some big plays. He was able to play at a pace where he wasn't hurrying himself."
- Donnie Jones

BLAIR BEASTS BULLS WITH 14 POINTS ON FOUR DUNKS
- Staphon Blair scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory.
- The junior had four dunks in the contest, increasing his team-leading total to 23 on the season.
- Blair went 6-of-11 from the floor and swatted three shots.

KNIGHTS HOLD USF TO .357 FROM THE FLOOR AND .190 FROM THREE
- UCF clamped down on defense against the Bulls.
- The Knights forced USF into shooting just 25-of-70 from the field.
- The Bulls were even worse from beyond the arc, hitting just 4-of-21.

UCF RECORDS JUST NINE TURNOVERS
After seven straight games with double digit turnovers, and at least 16 in their last three outings, the Knights took care of the ball on Wednesday. UCF turned it over just nine times against USF, limiting the Bulls to just nine points off of turnovers.

No player for UCF had more than two turnovers and the starting perimeter of B.J. Taylor, Brandon Goodwin and Adonys Henriquez combined for just two total.

POSTGAME AUDIO
Head Coach Donnie Jones

Kasey Wilson, Staphon Blair

NEXT UP FOR THE KNIGHTS
UCF will remain at home for its next contest, hosting Houston Sunday. The Knights and the Cougars will tip-off at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

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