ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's basketball team dropped its first home game of the season Monday night, falling to visiting Pennsylvania by a score of 58-49 at CFE Arena. The Knights fell to 7-2 overall on the season with the defeat.
"They got out to a great start, and from that they gained some momentum and played well throughout the game," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We have to be better. We have to understand how we win and we need to stick to the game plan."
The Quakers (4-5) used a 14-0 run from late in the first half and into the second half to take a 36-24 lead and put the Knights in a hole they never recovered from.
"We have to keep improving and part of that is maturity," Dawkins said. "There's a certain way that we play and we can't get out of character. We got out of character tonight and it really hurt us. We need to get back to focusing on the things we do well and help us be successful."
UCF never got on track offensively, shooting under 40 percent from the field for the first time this season, hitting just 17-of-52 (32.7). The Knights' three-point percentage was worse, connecting on just 5-of-18 from beyond the arc.
One of the bright spots for the Black and Gold was sophomore Tacko Fall, who had another banner day with his fifth double-double of the season. The 7-foot-6 center scored 17 points – on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field – and hauled in a career high 17 rebounds.
Unfortunately for the Knights, most of that production came in the first half. Fall led UCF with 14 points, on 7-of-7 shooting, and nine rebounds as UCF trailed just 28-24 at the break. The big man only took one shot from the floor and three free throws in the second half.
"They did a good job of fronting him and then bringing someone on the weak side," Dawkins said of Penn's defense on Fall in the second half. "But he only had two touches in the second half. That's nowhere near enough for who he is as a player and the presence that he has. I need to make sure we get back in the gym tomorrow and discuss what we need to do to get him to touch the basketball."
Matt Williams was able to get some traction on the perimeter, finishing with 17 points on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. It marked the eighth double figure scoring game of the season for the senior guard, who came into the game leading the American Athletic Conference with 3.6 threes made per game.
UCF's defense wasn't up to its nationally best standards, but it still didn't disappoint. The Knights held Penn to 58 points and 36.8 percent from the floor, but it was from beyond the arc that the Quakers did their damage. Penn went 11-of-28 from long distance.
Sam Jones led the Quakers with 15 points, Matt Howard added 13 and AJ Brodeur chipped in with 10. Howard had a team high nine rebounds in the victory.
UCF will now prepare to head back on the road and take on George Washington on Thursday. The Knights and the Colonials will tip-off at 7 p.m. from Washington, D.C.
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