TAMPA – The UCF men's basketball team had won nine consecutive games against rival South Florida prior to Saturday. The Knights couldn't make it 10 in a row, as the Bulls won 64-48 in an American Athletic Conference contest at the Yuengling Center.
"They definitely played well against us tonight," UCF head coach said of South Florida. "I don't think we put our best performance out there. It's disappointing. We didn't shoot the ball very well. In a game like this, you need those shots to fall."
The 48 points were a season low for the Knights (11-10, 2-7), who have now lost three straight games in league play. UCF shot 35.3 percent from the field and an abysmal 9.1 percent from 3-point range, connecting on just 2-of-22 from long distance on Saturday.
After taking a 10-6 lead early in the game, UCF allowed South Florida (10-12, 3-6) to use a 22-4 run to take a 28-14 lead that would ultimately be enough keep the Knights at bay.
The Bulls led 38-22 at halftime and although the Knights fought back through the second half, they never allowed UCF to cut the deficit to single digits in the final 20 minutes of action.
South Florida, which came in ranked 342nd out of 350 Division I teams in free throw percentage, shooting just 61.6 percent on the season, knocked down 24-of-30 attempts from the line. The 80.0 percent clip helped clinch the victory.
Laquincy Rideau and Justin Brown led South Florida with 14 points each, while Ezacuras Dawson added 12 in the victory.
Collin Smith was the only UCF player in double figures, finishing the afternoon with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Matt Milon added seven points, while Dazon Ingram grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The Knights finished with just five assists on 18 made field goals and turned the ball over 16 times.
UCF will head home before returning to the road for a league game Thursday night. The Knights take on ECU for the first time this season at 7 p.m. with coverage on ESPN3 and FM 96.9 The Game.
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