WICHITA, Kan. – After back-to-back wins, the UCF men's basketball team couldn't pick up a third, as the Knights fell on the road to Wichita State by a score of 87-79 Saturday night at a sold-out Charles Koch Arena.
"Our guys showed a lot of heart in a great environment," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. "We played some really good basketball. We just played 25 minutes of it, not 40. That's the disappointing part. We need to be able to complete games."
The Shockers used a 20-5 run late in the first half to take a 33-17 lead with just 2:45 to play in the frame, before the Knights used an 11-4 spurt down the stretch to cut their deficit to single digits. Freshman Tony Johnson Jr. connected from three-quarter court at the buzzer to make it 37-28 at the break.
UCF fought back early in the second half, as foul trouble forced the Knights to go to a small lineup. With no Collin Smith and no Avery Diggs on the court, UCF's 9-1 run with just guards cut the deficit to four points, a 50-46 with 12:07 to play, but the Shockers countered.
"We had to try something," Dawkins said. "We put them in a situation to make tough decisions. It played to our favor in parts of the game. We were able to move (the ball). Dazon (Ingram) is a heck of a rebounder. We felt maybe we could get them to change up what the (were doing)."
Wichita State extended its lead to double digits multiple times, but the Knights never quit. UCF cut it back to just four points late in the game. Ceasar DeJesus' dunk through traffic made it 80-76, but it wasn't enough as the Shockers held on for the 87-79 win.
Without Dre Fuller Jr. for the fourth straight game, and missing Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia due to illness, the UCF frontcourt was depleted. Early fouls to Smith and Diggs made it invisible.
But a number of Knights stepped up in the time of need. Starters Ceasar DeJesus (16 points), Dazon Ingram (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Brandon Mahan (10 points, 3 steals) all scored in double figures. And 6-foot-4 guard Matt Milon led UCF with eight rebounds.
Most impressive might have been the freshman duo of Darin Green Jr. and Johnson off the bench. Green finished with a team-high 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Johnson, who had played in only six minutes of action during conference play, scored 16 points on 4-of-8 from long distance and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in 17 minutes.
"Tony's a really good basketball player," Dawkins said of Johnson. "He hasn't really had the opportunity because of the depth we have on the perimeter, but we know who he is and we know what he's capable of doing."
The Knights only turned the ball over seven times and went 23-of-26 from the free throw line, but Wichita State's nine offensive rebounds led to 19 second chance points. The Shockers outrebounded UCF 45-28 overall in the game.
Dexter Dennis led WSU with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Jaime Echenique and Grant Sherfield added 14 points each in the win.
UCF will now return home to host Memphis on Wednesday. Tipoff from Addition Financial Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPNU and FM 96.9 The Game.
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