HARTFORD, Conn. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF men's basketball team dropped its first game of American Athletic Conference play, falling on the road to UConn, 64-49, in Hartford on Sunday. The Knights fell to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in league play on the season.
"I give UConn a lot of credit," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "They made a lot of plays early, they made threes early, and I think that gave them some momentum. We turned the ball over too many times and that allowed them to get some run-outs for some easy baskets."
The Huskies (6-9, 1-3 AAC) scored the first 10 points of the game and extended their lead to 19 points 14 minutes into the first half, never looking back in earning their first conference victory of the season. UConn took a 35-18 lead into the break.
The Knights were unable to make up any ground in the second half, as UConn put a stop to any run UCF had, eventually leading by as much as 25 with 6:15 to play in the game. A pair of three-pointers in the final minutes of action by the Knights' Djordjije Mumin brought it back to within 15, at 64-49.
The Huskies finished the game shooting 27-of-57 from the floor for 47.4 percent. It was the best shooting performance against the Knights all season, who came into Sunday leading the nation with a 32.2 defensive field goal percentage. UCF had yet to allow an opponent to shoot better 43 percent in a game.
UConn also outrebounded the nation's leader in rebounding. The Knights came into Sunday's contest averaging an NCAA-best 45.7 board per game, but allowed the Huskies to win the battle of the glass 38-34. UConn outscored the Knights 26-8 in the paint.
Sophomore B.J. Taylor led the Knights in scoring for the second straight game after returning from a thumb injury. The point guard finished with 18 points and went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Senior Matt Williams added 11 points in the defeat.
"We need to balance our offense out a little bit," Dawkins said. "But B.J. needs to make those plays. When guys aren't hitting shots we need somebody to get us going and he's been able to do that for us. He's doing what he has to do as a player."
Rodney Purvis led three Huskies in double figures with 17 points on 3-of-7 from long distance. Vance Jackson had 11, while Jalen Adams chipped in 10 for UConn.
UCF will have six days to prepare for the next game on the schedule. The Knights host Houston (12-4, 3-1 AAC) Saturday at 4 p.m. at CFE Arena.
"We just keep talking about our standards," Dawkins said. "It's about how we need to play. When we don't meet our standard then we go over it in practice to make sure we do what we need to do to get better."
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