Jan. 16, 2016
vs. East Carolina (Helton) - Images by UCF Knights
With five players scoring in double figures, the UCF men's basketball pillaged East Carolina on Saturday afternoon, 89-69, at CFE Arena. The win improves the Knights to 9-6 on the season and 3-1 in American Athletic Conference play.
Related: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Jones Interview | McBride and Davis Interview
The Knights (9-6, 3-1 AAC) nearly ran the Pirates (8-10, 0-5 AAC) out of the gym in the first half, shooting 66.7 percent from the field, including 50 percent from behind the arc with eight three pointers, and scoring 60 points in the first half, a feat that hadn't happened since 2004 (62 points, Feb. 28, 2004 vs. Campbell).
UCF jumped out to a quick 10-point lead by the first media timeout, thanks to the sharpshooting of Matt Williams and inside presence of Tacko Fall. Williams drained a trio of three pointers within the first five minutes, while Fall tallied six of his 12 points.
Midway through the half, junior Justin McBride was tagged in by Fall, and it was the big 6-foot-10, 325-pound center's turn to bang in the post. The Starke, Florida, native kept things rolling for the Black & Gold, tallying 10 of his 12 points before the five-minute mark in the first half.
The three-point power of UCF continued until the final buzzer of the first half with six Knights sinking at least one triple in the first 20 minutes of action, enabling the Knights to hold a 60-32 halftime lead.
The shooting clinic continued in the second half but with sophomore Adonys Henriquez joining the party. The Orlando, Florida, native nearly took the game over, scoring nine of his 13 points before the under 12 media timeout.
With 13:06 remaining, UCF garnered a 36-point lead over ECU and put it in to cruise control for the remainder of the game, garnering an 89-69 victory.
BALANCED ATTACK
- The Knights had five players score in double figures against ECU.
- A.J. Davis, Adonys Henriquez and Daiquan Walker each tallied a team-high 13 points.
- McBride and Fall added 12 points.
- Williams came up one point short of double figures, scoring just nine points.
CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS
- UCF dominated the boards, outrebounding the Pirates, 48-27.
- The Knights gained their advantage on the offensive end, pulling down 14 offensive rebounds.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
- McBride recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
- The junior now has four double-double in his career, two of which have come against ECU.
MAKING IT RAIN
- UCF was making it rain from deep, making 12-of-27 three pointers.
- The 12 three's are the most this season for the Knights, and the most since last year at Tulane (Feb. 19, 2015).
NEXT UP
- UCF heads down I-4 on Wednesday to take on rival USF for a 7 p.m. tip-off on ESPNews. The Black & Gold recently defeated the Bulls, 75-64, at CFE Arena on Jan. 6.