Nov. 18, 2015
The UCF men's basketball team came up short Wednesday night in "The Biggest Home Opener in College Basketball" as UC Irvine snuck out of CFE Arena with a 61-60 overtime victory.
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From the opening tip to the final tick, fans were glued in on the battle of the two 7-foot-6 Senegal natives in UCF freshman Tacko Fall and UCI redshirt junior Mamadou Ndiaye. Even the players' teammates wanted to see the matchup as both squads went to their respective big men early in the contest.
Fall made his presence known within the first two minutes, blocking two of Ndiaye's shots and getting the 5,629 fans roaring. He continued to be fearless against the more experienced 7-footer, scoring six points on Ndiaye and blocking four shots.
After Fall set the tone, redshirt sophomore A.J. Davis took over from there, scoring a team-high 19 points in his CFE Arena debut. The Tennessee transfer also made arguably the biggest play of the game with 4:05 remaining in the second half when he rose above Ndaiye and threw down a vicious one-handed dunk on the 7-6 center.
The Knights' duo then combined forces in the final seconds of regulation with A. Davis dishing off to Fall for a two-handed slam to knot the score at 58-58.
Despite Fall forcing extra time and having a more impressive stat line, Ndiaye got the last laugh sinking the game-winning free throw in overtime.
THE RUNS
- The Anteaters went on an 8-0 run just under 10 minutes in the first half to take a 22-14 lead at 5:46 in the first half.
- UCF answered with a 10-4 run to close out the first half and head in to the locker room down just two points, 26-24.
- The Knights opened the second half on fire as they produced a 13-2 run over a four-minute span to claim a 40-33 lead with 12:31 remaining in regulation.
- UCI responded with a 20-9 run to snatch a 52-49 advantage with 4:29 left in the second half.
THE BIG MATCHUP
- Fall ended the game with six points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
- Ndiaye scored made just one field goal but managed to score five points and grab two rebounds.
DAVIS SHINES IN HIS HOME OPENER
- Sophomore transfer A.J. Davis had a big first game at CFE Arena, scoring a team-high 19 points while also dishing out five assists.
- The Tennessee transfer was 6-of-12 shooting and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
- For the second consecutive game, UCF dominated the boards, outrebounding UC Irvine 57-34.
- Shaheed Davis pulled down a game-high 12 boards for the Knights, one away from tying his career best.
PAYING ON TURNOVERS
- The Knights turned the ball over 17 times on Wednesday, which resulted in 19 points for the Anteaters on the other end.
- UCF scored just nine points on UCI's seven turnovers.
NEXT UP
The Knights have no time to think about Wednesday's loss as they turn around to play UNC Greensboro at CFE Arena on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The game will be live on ESPN3.
Men's basketball tickets are currently on sale for as low as $99. Call the UCF Sales and Service office at 407-UCF-1000 or log on to UCFKnights.com to join our team today.