Dec. 19, 2015
UCF's 15-point, second-half comeback attempt fell short Saturday afternoon, falling on the road to Detroit, 95-89. The loss snaps the Knights' four-game winning streak and drops them to 5-4 on the season.
Related: Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)
The Knights found themselves playing catch-up early, trailing 18-6 just seven minutes into the contest.
Midway through the first half, Justin McBride tallied all eight of his points in a surge to get UCF back into the game, making it 18-15. But the Titans got hot again, scoring 11 unanswered to force UCF head coach Donnie Jones to take a timeout.
Following the Knights' timeout, the Black & Gold went on a 13-1 run, dwindling the lead to 30-28. Matt Williams was a big catalyst during the run, draining two three pointers.
But the Titans fended off the Knights and extended their lead back to 11 by the end of the first half, thanks to a half-court heave by UD's Carlton Brundidge at the buzzer. Brundidge's trey was one of nine made by the Titans in the first half.
In the second half, UCF switched its defense to man-to-man to contest the three's, which helped reel the Knights back into the game. Tacko Fall and A.J. Davis had a large part in the comeback, scoring 27 of the Knights 55 second-half points.
With under 12 minutes remaining, UCF had chopped Detroit's lead to just two points, but it was the closest the Knights would get.
Detroit scored the next nine points to take an 11-point lead, and the Knights found themselves playing catch-up, again.
UCF's last chance came with 31 seconds remaining and trailing by five points. A deep three-point shot by Adonys Henriquez clanked off the front of the rim, and Detroit grabbed the rebound.
The Knights and Titans layups for free throws the remainder of the game, ending with DU on top 95-89.
BIG BENCH PLAY
- UCF's benched played a big role in the game, scoring 38 points.
- Matt Williams led all bench scorers with 12 points, while Daiquan Walker had 11.
- Justin McBride chipped in eight, and Tanksley Efianayi added seven.
DEFENDING THE THREE
- UCF had to contain a hot-shooting Detroit team that went 12-for-25 from the behind the arc.
- Nine of Detroit's 16 first-half field goals were from three-point range, including a half-court shot at the end of the half.