ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's basketball team led wire-to-wire to earn its fourth home victory of the season Saturday, defeating visiting Maryland Eastern Shore by a score of 76-58 at CFE Arena.
"[This was] a game where we really had to work together and come together to be successful," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. "So I'm really proud of our guys. Maryland Eastern Shore is very scrappy, they play unorthodox and our guys responded well."
Leading by just seven points halfway through the second half, the Knights (7-1) used a 14-1 run to take a 65-45 advantage over the Hawks (1-9) and ultimately put the game away. Seniors Matt Williams and Tank Efianayi scored all 14 points during the spurt to help UCF pull away.
Williams hit three of his six three-pointers in the game during the stretch, while Efianayi scored five points, including a three of his own to give the Knights the 20-point lead with just 7:01 left to play in the game.
The Knights never led by less than 14 points the rest of the way, cruising to the 76-58 home win. UCF is now 4-0 at CFE Arena.
THE FOUR THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM SATURDAY'S WIN
Fifth-year senior Matt Williams recorded his first career double-double
Williams can shoot the basketball. All Knights fans know that. Saturday UCF needed him to rebound the basketball, so he did that. The Orlando native finished with 10 boards to go along with a game high 23 points for the first double-double of his career.
No surprise to those same fans, 18 of his 23 points came from beyond the arc. Williams knocked down six three-pointers for the third time this season, finishing just one three shy and one point shy of his career bests.
"It just comes from all of the confidence my teammates and coaches [have in me] every day at practice. I make sure I get shots up. I make sure that guys come in to shoot with me. It just comes from my teammates." – Matt Williams on his three-point shooting
With 181 three-pointers in his career, Williams passed former Knight Josh Peppers in the UCF record books for fifth place in threes made. He came into Saturday leading the American Athletic Conference with 3.3 made threes per game.
"Matt's been a rock for us almost all season. He's one of our captains and he has led us every game." – Johnny Dawkins
The nation's second best scoring defense held the Hawks to 28.4 percent from the floor
- The Knights held Maryland Eastern Shore to just 58 points, 28.4 percent shooting from the floor and 28.6 percent from three-point range.
- UCF came in leading the nation in field goal percentage defense at 30.8 percent and ranked second in all of NCAA, holding opponents to just 54.6 points per game.
- The Knights had five total blocked shots, including two from sophomore Tacko Fall, who now has 92 in his two seasons at UCF.
Point Guard by Committee worked with B.J. Taylor sidelined
Led mostly by A.J. Davis at the point, the Knights used nearly everybody in the rotation to bring the ball up the court against the Hawks. Maryland Eastern Shore, a team that presses regularly, attempted to speed the Knights up even more on Saturday.
- UCF finished with 18 assists to 16 turnovers in the victory.
- Davis led the way with a career high nine assists.
- Fall was second among Knights, also recording a career high of three assists.
- B.J. Taylor missed his first game of 2016-17 with a hand injury. The redshirt sophomore sat out all of last season due to a foot injury.
"I mean every time a man goes down like B.J., who is a great player for us, everybody feels the need to step up. On any given night any one of us really can." – Tank Efianayi
UCF's dominance on the glass continued with a 48-30 rebound advantage
The Knights came into Saturday leading the American Athletic Conference and ranked sixth in the nation with 45.6 rebounds per game. UCF bested that average with 48 against the Hawks. The Knights now hold a +12.0 rebound margin on the season.
COMING UP NEXT
The Knights will have just one day before getting back into action. UCF hosts Pennsylvania on Monday at 7 p.m. at CFE Arena with coverage on ESPN3 and FM 96.9 The Game.
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