ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's basketball team needed a win. Riding a four-game losing streak, the Knights returned home for the first time since Jan. 25 to host Memphis, Saturday at CFE Arena. Yes, the same Memphis program UCF had defeated just one time in 22 all-time meetings.
It is now two times, as UCF (15-8, 6-5 AAC) led wire-to-wire and defeated visiting Memphis (17-7, 7-4 AAC) by a score of 72-57 in front of a raucous home crowd.
"The energy in the building was terrific," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "When they were making runs, just the fact that our crowd got up, people standing up, screaming and yelling at everyone out there, that's meaningful. It really helped."
The Knights' 14-0 start to the game also helped. In the epitome of a team effort, all five UCF starters scored during the four minute and 45 second spurt to start the game.
"It was sharing the basketball and playing together," Dawkins said of his team's offense on Saturday. "It was just a really good team win."
Stretching their lead to 17 points by halftime, at 43-26, the Knights remained focused on keeping the Tigers at bay in the final 20 minutes.
When Memphis clawed back within 11 points, at 48-37 with 14:09 to play, UCF responded with a 7-0 run featuring a pair of driving layups by junior A.J. Davis and one of Matt Williams' five three-pointers on the night.
The Tigers made one final effort down the stretch, thanks to the aggressive play of Dedric Lawson, and cut their deficit to nine points twice in the final three minutes, but it wasn't enough as UCF held on for the 72-57 victory. Lawson scored 11 of his 28 points in the last seven minutes of the game.
"I think it was one of our best performances this year," Dawkins said. "I think from beginning to end our guys were really focused, especially on the defensive end. We challenged them, because of the last few games we had and the scores that we gave up. I thought our guys really responded to it and it led to some good offense for us."
The Knights shot over 50 percent for the seventh time this season, finishing the night 23-of-43 from the floor for 53.5 percent. UCF was also 8-of-16 from the three-point line. The team's 14 assists were the most since the Jan. 17 win over USF.
"I think we've been moving the ball well the last several games but the shots hadn't always fallen," Dawkins said. "That can always distort what you do offensively. Tonight our guys made those same connecting plays and we knocked down the shots."
Williams led four Knights in double figures with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. It marked his eighth game this season with five or more three-pointers.
B.J. Taylor added 16 points and seven rebounds, Tacko Fall totaled 15 points, nine boards and four blocked shots, and Davis finished with 11 points and a team high four assists.
At the end of the night, however, it was the defense for UCF that once again stood out. The Knights, who came in still leading the nation by holding opponents to just 35.8 percent shooting, kept Memphis to 30.2 percent from the floor and just 21.7 percent shooting from three-point range.
The Knights move on to one of their toughest test of the season, taking on No. 14 Cincinnati (21-2, 10-0 AAC) Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena. UCF and Cincinnati tip-off at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
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