ANAHEIM, Calif. – The UCF men's basketball team scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back, dominating Charleston in a rematch from a week ago to win 77-56 in the fifth-place game of the Wooden Legacy tournament on Sunday.
"That's (the standard) we're striving for," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We can't wait to get back and see the film to talk about what our standards are and play like this on a more consistent basis. Our guys were excellent tonight."
The win gave the Knights (5-2) a 2-1 record in California over the holiday, falling to Penn in the opening round before beating Pepperdine and Charleston in their final two games of the weekend.
And on Sunday it may have been Dawkins' crew's best complete performance, never leading by less than eight points through the entire second half.
The Knights shot 48 percent from the field and went 8-of-21 from beyond the arc. Continuing to improve from the line, UCF was 11-of-14 from the strip against the Cougars.
Junior forward Collin Smith led the way again for the Knights, scoring in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games. The Jacksonville native had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists.
Starting his third straight game, Dre Fuller Jr. added 13 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Point guard Dazon Ingram didn't have an efficient night from the field, scoring just two points, but he contributed in other ways, recording nine boards, six assists, two blocks and two steals.
Once again, the Knights' bench outscored the opponents', this time by a margin of 29-14.
On Sunday it was Brandon Mahan and Frank Bertz who stepped up, both scoring in double figures. Mahan went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and scored 12 points, while Bertz was 2-of-4 from long distance and totaled 10 points in the win.
"We have a very good team as long as we continue to play the right way," Dawkins said. "Our strength is in our numbers and everyone is comfortable in their role. That allows us to play the way we want to play."
The defense was impressive in the victory, holding Charleston to just 56 points, the first time holding an opponent under 60 points in 2019-20. The Cougars (4-4) shot just 37 percent from the field and turned the ball over 10 times, which led to 17 points for the Knights.
UCF, meanwhile, only turned the ball over five times, a season best by a margin of six.
The Knights, after heading back to Orlando, will have a week off from competition, before returning to action at home on Saturday, Dec. 7. UCF hosts NJIT at Addition Financial Arena at noon with coverage on ESPN3 and FM 96.9 The Game.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Gameday app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.
