Feb. 4, 2016
Box Score
Senior guard Daiquan Walker exploded for a career-high 33 points, leading the UCF men's basketball program to a 70-62 victory at Tulane on Thursday night. The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Knights and improves them to 11-9 and 5-4 in the American Athletic Conference.
Related: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Jones Interview | Walker Interview
Walker got the Knights going early, scoring 20 of his game-high 33 points in the first half. The senior from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ignited a 15-3 scoring run for UCF, draining a three pointer as the shot clock expired to make it 28-17 with 6:51 remaining in the half.
The two league foes traded buckets the remainder of the half, going into the locker rooms with the Knights leading 38-28.
UCF's 10-point lead went to 12 following the first possession of the second half, but the Green Wave came storming back, dwindling the Knights' lead to just two points with 10:43 remaining.
With 4:45 left in the game, Tulane was down by one point, but Walker caught fire, again.
The senior guard scooped in a layup and sank his sixth three of the night before throwing an alley-oop to fellow classmate Staphon Blair, giving the Knights a six-point lead with 2:29 remaining.
Tulane, again, made it a one possession game with 1:10 left in the game, but another senior in Shaheed Davis sealed the victory with a corner three.
Walker closed out the game, making 3-of-4 free throws to post a career-high 33 points and be the first play to score over 30 since B.J. Taylor tallied 33 against the Green Wave last January.
WALKER'S CAREER NIGHT
- Walker tallied a career-high 33 points against Tulane, topping his previous best of 21, which he garnered against both Bethune-Cookman and Illinois-Chicago.
- The senior made 11-of-16 shots, including 6-of-8 from behind the arc.
- Walker also made 5-of-7 free throws.
NEAR DOUBLE-DOUBLES
- A.J. Davis and Shaheed Davis nearly had double-doubles with A.J. tallying 13 points and grabbing eight boards. Shaheed posted eight points and snatched nine rebounds.
HENRIQUEZ RULED OUT
- Adonys Henriquez missed the first game of his collegiate career against Tulane, being ruled out with a mild MCL sprain and bone contusion. He will miss 2-3 weeks of action.
- The sophomore is averaging 10.1 points per game in 31.5 minutes per clip.
- Henriquez had started 49 consecutive games for the Knights leading up to Thursday's game.
NEXT UP
The Knights have quick turnaround, returning to CFE Arena on Saturday for a noon tip against Temple, which will be broadcast list on ESPNU.