ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Six days ago the Knights gave up the first 10 points of the game and trailed wire-to-wire in a 64-49 loss at UConn. On Saturday, the UCF men's basketball team righted the ship, scoring the first 10 points and leading from start to finish in a 77-70 defeat of visiting Houston.
"It was just a real high level game," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said afterwards. "I think both teams played at a high level and I was really proud of our guys for bouncing back coming off a tough loss last week."
Senior Matt Williams was critical in getting the Knights (13-4, 4-1 AAC) out to a hot start, scoring the first eight points of the game himself. The Orlando native hit back-to-back threes before connecting on a jumper in the lane to get the UCF fans on their feet early on.
Although UCF led 34-29 at the break, and extended their advantage to as many as 12 points midway through the second half, the Cougars (13-5, 4-2 AAC) never went away. Houston used an 8-1 run to cut the UCF lead to just three points, at 70-67, with 1:48 to play.
With their home crowd cheering them on every step of the way, UCF aggressively put an end to the Cougars' spurt when B.J. Taylor fed Tacko Fall at the rim for a perfectly timed alley oop as the shot clock buzzer sounded.
"We got what we wanted," Dawkins said. "Basically we wanted the ball in B.J.'s hands. B.J. delivered the perfect pass and Tacko finished it off. Maybe if we had done it two second earlier then I would have been happy, but it all worked out anyway."
Taylor then got it done defensively for the Knights, recording two steals in a span of nine seconds. He also hit three-of-four from the free throw line during the stretch to put the game away. The Knights' 75-67 lead with 30 seconds to play was enough to allow the home team to hang on for the 77-70 win.
"The steal at the end. That was big time by B.J.," said junior A.J. Davis. "I think down the stretch B.J. was great defensively. We did a great job all night, but they hit some tough shots. We stuck to our game plan and we were solid defensively the whole night."
THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FROM SATURDAY'S WIN
UCF used a balanced attack as all five starters scored in double figures
- Taylor led the way with 20 points, but Davis and senior Tank Efianayi stepped up with 15 points each in the victory.
- After going scoreless in the last two games, Fall came back with an 11-point outing.
- Williams, who scored eight points in the first 1:39 of the game, finished with 10, but led with a game high six assists.
- It was the third time this season UCF put five players in double figures (Stetson and Nicholls).
The Knights shot a season high 56.8 percent from the floor
Struggling on offense as of late, UCF snapped out of it by shooting a season best 56.8 percent from the floor. The Knights were 25-of-44 on field goals and 7-of-20 from beyond the arc (35.0). Their previous best was 55.6 percent at Tulane back on Dec. 28.
B.J. Taylor led UCF in scoring for the third straight game
- Taylor has been back from injury for three games. He has led the Knights in scoring in all three games.
- The sophomore is averaging 19 points and shooting 45.9 percent from the floor during the three games against East Carolina, UConn and Houston.
- For the season, Taylor now leads the Knights with 16.9 points per game.
The Knights recorded double figure assists for the first time in conference play
- As noted, UCF was extremely efficient offensively on Saturday, likely due to unselfish play.
- The Knights recorded 12 assists on 25 field goals in the victory.
- It was the first game during American Athletic Conference play that UCF has recorded double digit assists.
COMING UP NEXT
UCF stays at home and will host USF in the War On I-4 on Tuesday. The Knights and Bulls will tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPNews from CFE Arena.
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