Jan. 2, 2016
A.J. Davis tallied 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, rallying the UCF men's basketball team to a, 71-68, comeback victory over East Carolina to open American Athletic Conference play.
Related: Jones' Postgame Interview | Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Trailing by nine with 5:46 remaining in the second half, the Knights (7-5, 1-0 American) chipped away at the Pirates' (8-6, 0-1 American) lead by getting to the free-throw line and making timely three pointers.
Adonys Henriquez came up big in the final minutes, making two deadly three's to keep ECU at bay after missing his first six from behind the arc. His first three, which came with three minutes left in regulation, gave the Knights their first lead since the start of the second half.
With 2:13 remaining, Daiquan Walker capped a UCF 16-3 run, sinking a pull-up jumper with the shot clock running out and giving the Black & Gold a four-point lead. The basket forced ECU to call a timeout in an attempt to negate the Knights' momentum.
On the ensuing possession, the Pirates capitalized on a pair of free throws, but UCF answered with arguably the biggest shot of the game. Davis drained his only three of the game from the top of the key, giving the Knights a five-point lead with 1:18 left in the game.
Davis' trey was the Knights' final bucket of the game as they fended off the Pirates at the free-throw line, making 5-of-6 in the final minute of play and earning a 71-68 triumph.
UCF had four players score in double figures with Davis leading the way, tying his career-high of 23. Tanksley Efianayi matched his career-high as well with 12, while Walker chipped in 11. Henriquez finished the game with 10.
Not in double figures, but a big performance by Justin McBride went unnoticed, scoring eight points, grabbing 13 boards and blocking three shots.
MAKING THE EASY ONES
- The Knights shot 80.8 percent from the charity stripe, making 21-of-26 free throws.
- Davis was the most frequent visitor, sinking 8-of-10 from the line.
- Walker, 3-of-3, and Tacko Fall, 2-of-2, were the lone Knights to go perfect on the night.
MAKING THEM WHEN THEY COUNT
- UCF was shooting 6.7 percent from behind the arc before draining three treys in the final minutes of the game.
BLOCK PARTY
- The Knights dominated the paint on the defensive end, blocking seven ECU shots.
- McBride tallied a team-high three blocks, while Fall swatted two. Chance McSpadden and Shaheed Davis each had one.
NEXT UP
- UCF returns to CFE Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 6, to take on in-state rival USF. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNews.