CHARLESTON, S.C. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF men's basketball team came into Friday's Gildan Charleston Classic semifinal game at 2-0, holding opponents to 58.5 points per game and just 30.1 percent shooting. In a win over host College of Charleston at TD Arena, the Knights' defense was even better, holding the Cougars to 40 points on 26.8 percent in a 60-40 victory.
"They play hard and they really defend," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said of Charleston. "Their level of intensity on the defensive and their effort were at a really high level. I thought they did a great job and I was really proud of our guys, because we needed to really execute at a high level to get good looks at the basket."
After Charleston evened the game for the second time early on, at 4-4, a jumper by senior Tank Efianayi broke the tie, a dunk by sophomore Tacko Fall extended the Knights' lead to four and a three-pointer by senior Nick Banyard made it 11-4 in favor of UCF just five minutes into the contest.
The Knights did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way, holding an advantage as large as 11 points in the first half before going into the break leading 28-21.
A layup by sophomore B.J. Taylor early in the second half ignited a 12-3 Knights run that extended their lead to 18, at 46-28, when Taylor knocked down one of his pair of three-pointers on the night. UCF led by as much as 24, cruising to the 60-40 win.
FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Defense wins championships and UCF's has been stellar through three games under Dawkins
- The Knights held Charleston to 15-of-56 (.268) from the floor and just 3-of-19 (.158) from beyond the arc.
- Outrebounding their opponents in all three games this season, UCF held a 41-28 advantage on the boards against Charleston.
- UCF is currently third in the American Athletic Conference, holding opponents to 52.3 points per game, and the Knights lead the league with a .292 defensive shooting percentage.
- The 40 points allowed to Charleston was the third best outing by a UCF team ever. The single game record is 37 points, set against Florida Tech in 2006.
"Defensively, I thought it was one of the best efforts we've had this season. Both halves, I thought we were as engaged as we've been this year." - Johnny Dawkins
"Our defense got us off to a good start. Our whole game plan is to come out and play defense. We get all of our momentum and we're going to get our runs off of playing hardnosed defense." - B.J. Taylor
The Knights will take on defending NCAA National Champion Villanova on Sunday
Sunday's championship game of the Gildan Charleston Classic will feature UCF and defending NCAA National Champion Villanova. The Wildcats, who defeated North Carolina for the crown last season, come into the game ranked number three in the nation.
The last time the Knights took on the defending national champion in non-conference action was Nov. 25, 2011 when UCF defeated then defending champ Connecticut 68-63 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. The Knights went on to lose to Harvard in the title game.
Villanova defeated Western Michigan 76-65 in the first round of the Charleston Classic Thursday and then took care of Wake Forest 96-77 in semifinal action Friday evening. Josh Hart leads the Wildcats with 20.3 points per game.
"Jay [Wright]'s a great coach and a friend. He's done a terrific job with his team. I've watched them over the years, what they've done, he's built an amazing program. We have a chance to play for a championship. It will be a great opportunity for our guys to compete against one of the best teams in the nation." - Johnny Dawkins
Graduate Transfer Nick Banyard has quietly recorded double figure rebounds in all three games
- Banyard continued his impressive run of rebounding performances on Friday, grabbing 10 boards to go along with four points, three assists, one block and one steal in 38 minutes of action.
- The Flower Mound, Texas native is averaging 11.7 rebounds per contest as a fifth year senior.
- Before becoming a Knight, Banyard had recorded double figure rebounds just once in three seasons at New Mexico and Illinois State.
B.J. is back and he's ballin' out
- After a night where he dished out 10 assists with no turnovers on Thursday, Taylor took on the scoring load Friday, finishing with a game high and season best 21 points.
- The point guard went 8-of-13 from the floor and now leads the Knights with 17.3 points per game on the season.
COMING UP NEXT
The Knights' championship game against Villanova is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET from TD Arena. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game. After returning home on Monday, UCF will have a few days off before taking on Seattle next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. from CFE Arena.
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