Feb. 17, 2016
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A first-half slump for UCF men's basketball was the difference on Wednesday night, falling to Memphis, 73-56, in the Home of the Blues. The Knights are now 11-13 on the season and 5-8 in the American Athletic Conference.
Related: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Jones Interview
The Black & Gold had a horrid first half offensively, shooting just 22.2 percent from the floor to reach 15 points by halftime. Memphis, who led 33-15 at the break, took advantage of the Knights' inefficiency, scoring 10 second-chance points and nine on breakaways.
In the second half, head coach Donnie Jones made a change to his lineup, starting freshman Chad Brown, who had only accumulated 28 minutes entering Wednesday night's game. Brown's statistical output was minimal, scoring just one point and grabbing four boards in 12 minutes of action, but the 6-foot-9 forward brought energy to the Knights.
The new energy became contagious as the Knights outscored the Tigers in the second half, 41-40, and even dwindled the lead down to nine points with eight minutes remaining.
Unfortunately, Memphis put the pedal down to finish with a 73-56 victory.
#TACKOSWAT
- Freshman Tacko Fall recorded four blocks against the Tigers, making it five of the last six games with at least three blocks.
- Fall's 53 blocks on the season is a UCF freshman record and is tied for eighth with Anthony Williams (2004-05) for single-season blocks in Knights history.
FROM DOWNTOWN
- Redshirt junior Matt Williams sank a pair of triples to surpass Gary Johnson (2003-05) for 10th in UCF history for career three-point makes with 143.
- Williams is now chasing Brad Traina (1995-99), who sits ninth in program history with 156.
NEXT UP
- UCF heads CFE Arena for a two-game homestand, which begins Sunday, Feb. 21 against Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane defeated the Knights, 75-60, back on Jan. 24 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.