ORLANDO—UCF had hoped nearly a full week of practice, a roster back at full strength and a home game for the first time in 25 days might combine to give the Knights a solid chance to reverse their recent fortunes.
Instead a cold-shooting second half for UCF and a 10-0 run by visiting SMU paved the way for a 78-65 victory by the Mustangs Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.
UCF (3-6 overall, 1-5 in American Athletic Conference action) saw its losing streak extend to five games. SMU (8-2, 4-2) was playing its first contest since Jan. 11 after having three consecutive games postponed. The Mustangs played their first road outing since Dec. 30 and only their third of the season.
The visitors finished the game knocking down 10 of their last 12 shots from the floor, while UCF missed its final nine attempts. That's after the Knights had cut a nine-point SMU lead to 61-58 on consecutive three-pointers by freshman Isaiah Adams and senior Brandon Mahan.
"They got out in transition a little more than we wanted them to in the second half," said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. "They got high-percentage points--points in the paint from rolling their bigs. They were doing that more consistently than they were in the first half."
UCF shot only 30.6 percent in the second half, with five of its 11 buckets coming from three-point range. Meanwhile SMU after intermission was an impressive .571 from the floor (16 of 28 shots). The Mustangs connected on seven of nine to fuel that 10-0 run that pushed SMU to a 53-44 advantage.
"Defensively we can't give us 78 points (46 in the second half)," said Dawkins. "We've got to be a lot better defensively—that's what we've always hung our hat on. It starts on the defensive end. That's how you tun it around. We've got to get stops. Everything will flow from there offensively."
Veteran guard Darius Perry, after not playing for two straight games, led the Knights with 14 points—notching his first basket nine seconds after coming off the bench for an early 8-5 advantage for Dawkins' crew. He also had seven assists in 36 minutes of play.
Mahan with 13 points scored his most in a game since that same total Dec. 26 versus Houston. All four of his field goals came from three-point range. C.J. Walker contributed 10 points. Perry and Darin Green Jr, had five rebounds apiece, and three other Knights had four each as UCF won the rebounding battle 33-31.
SMU junior Kendric Davis, the top scorer in the AAC this season, led both teams with 21 points to go with nine assists. Yor Anei had a dozen points off the bench for the Mustangs. Feron Hunt and Emmanuel Bandoumel both had 11 points, with Hunt leading his team in rebounds with eight.
Added Dawkins, "Davis really pushed the ball, and at times he was a one-man fast break. He got to the basket or got threes in transition. That hurt us."
SMU finished near-perfect at the free-throw line, hitting 16 of 17 attempts (12 of 13 in the second half). The Mustangs outscored UCF in the paint 42-22, as well as 18-7 in fast-break points.
A competitive first half saw the Knights finish with a 33-32 lead, helped by Perry's nine points (on four-of-five shooting). Davis had nine (four-of-six shooting) for the Mustangs in the first 20 minutes. The Knights led for more than 15 minutes in the half, with SMU's three advantages coming by a single point. UCF's largest leads were five on two occasions, the last at 19-14. The home team grabbed the first six rebounds of the game and finished the half with a 16-11 edge in that category.
"I thought things translated well in the first half," said Dawkins. "The ball moved pretty well for us offensively, we shared it and that's what we wanted to do. We weren't forcing shots, weren't forcing passes. The turnover total showed that (11 overall, six in the first half). Shot selection was better, and we did not settle."
There were eight lead changes in the first half and 13 overall. UCF's final advantage came at 44-43 with 15:19 to go in the game.
After four straight road games before today's contest, the Knights remain at home to play host to East Carolina (7-3 heading into a home game Sunday versus Memphis) at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday at Addition Financial Arena. Tickets are available for the game which will be show on ESPN+.