NORMAN, Okla. – The UCF men's basketball team's six-game win streak came to an end Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma, as the Knights fell to the Sooners 53-52 in the final moments at the Lloyd Noble Center.
"It's a disappointing loss," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. "I thought we did a lot of good things, especially defensively, to give ourselves a chance, but we have to be stronger offensively, and we weren't."
The Knights (9-3) led the entire first half and by as many as 12 points with 5:49 to play in the first before taking a 32-27 lead into the break. The Sooners (8-3) didn't take their first lead until the 11:42 mark in the second half when an 8-0 run made it 41-40 in favor of Oklahoma.
UCF regained the lead on a Dazon Ingram layup, but the two teams battled back-and-forth until the Sooners took their final advantage of the game on a pair of free throws with 4:16 to play.
Down 53-49 after Ingram made 1-of-2 from the line, the senior point guard got his own rebound on the second attempt and eventually got the ball to Dre Fuller Jr., who knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Knights to within just one point with a minute to go.
After missed shots on multiple possessions for the Sooners, UCF got the ball back one final time with just seconds remaining.
The final shot, a three by Fuller at the buzzer, didn't go down and the Sooners escaped with the one-point home victory.
"I wanted to see us get to the basket," Dawkins said of the final play. "I wanted to see us drive the basketball. We were down one. It's a pretty simple play. Get to the basket, make a play for yourself or others if help comes. We didn't put any pressure on the rim."
The offense didn't have much success all afternoon, as the Knights shot just 31.3 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from 3-point range. Neither team was able to make much traction at the foul line, as there were just 12 free throws taken in the game.
Defensively, the Knights were impressive though, holding Oklahoma to just 32.3 percent shooting and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc on its home floor. UCF outrebounded the Sooners 48-42 and had 15 offensive boards to Oklahoma's 12.
"Defensively, we followed the game plan," Dawkins said. "I thought we had a good game plan going into it. We held them to a manageable number. I thought we did well. Fifty-three points, on the road, I'll take that every night."
Fuller led the Knights by matching a career-high 13 points and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. He was 6-for-15 from the field and also had one blocked shot.
"I thought Dre did a really good job for us," Dawkins said. "He played well, he made plays for us. He made a big three for us late to cut it to one. I was proud of him, as a freshman in this type of environment, I thought he did a good job."
Ingram also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points, adding a team-high four assists and matching a career-best with 14 rebounds. Brandon Mahan added seven points, while Collin Smith had six points and 10 rebounds.
The Knights will return to action in 10 days when they begin American Athletic Conference play. UCF hosts Temple on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. with coverage on ESPNU and FM 96.9 The Game.
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