MEMPHIS—For the second time in three nights, UCF found the Memphis basketball team to be a tough nut to crack. But this one looked nothing like the first meeting between these teams Monday.
This time the Tigers built a 14-point lead in the opening half. UCF then fought back gamely, cutting the margin to four points twice in the second half. Finally Memphis managed to hold off the visiting Knights effectively enough to post the 75-61 victory.
UCF (4-9 overall, 2-8 in American Athletic Conference action) lost its third straight, all on the road. The Knights are now 1-7 away from home. Memphis (11-6, 7-3) won for the fifth time in six outings and ran its home-floor record to 8-1.
UCF senior Darius Perry led his team with 18 points—scoring all six of his free-throw attempts. C.J. Walker had 15 points and Darin Green Jr. 13—with both players connecting on six of nine field-goal attempts.
Walker and Brandon Mahan each had seven rebounds—though the Knights dropped the board battle 35-29 to Memphis.
"I thought we played them well," said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. "Still too many unforced turnovers, and we didn't shoot the ball as well.
"I thought we had our chances. We had some runs in both the first and second half. We couldn't overcome the lead--just not making some good open looks."
The Knights finished with 21 turnovers, shooting 42.1% (48.4 after intermission). UCF made four of 23 three-point attempts after connecting on only one of 13 to start the contest.
Memphis scored nine straight points after an opening bucket by Walker. The Tigers established their advantage as UCF missed six consecutive shots while Memphis connected on five in a row to make it 24-10 for the home team. From there the Knights outscored Memphis 13-6 to finish the opening half.
In the second half, UCF hit its first three shots and five of its first six to cut the deficit to 37-33 at the 15:15 mark. After Perry's three at 13:30 made it 42-38, Memphis went on a 13-2 run over the next three and a half minutes. The Tigers knocked down four straight shots and nine of their first 14 in the second half.
A 7-0 run by the Knights cut the margin to 55-47 after a Green Jr. three-pointer before the home team pushed the lead back to double figures. Memphis prospered by shooting at a 62.5% clip (15 of 24) in the second half. The largest Tiger advantage of the evening came at 55-40 after that 13-2 run.
"Our mindset was better tonight--we understood their press better after playing Monday," added Dawkins. "The turnaround from Monday to tonight was much better. I liked the energy we played with tonight. If we had made some shots, it would have been an even better ballgame. They (the UCF players) gave us a chance—we just didn't make enough shots."
Landers Nolley II paced Memphis with 18 points and led both teams with 10 rebounds. The only other double-figure scorer for the Tigers was reserve D.J. Jeffries with 11 points. Ten Memphis players saw at least 11 minutes of action, with 28 points coming from the Tiger bench.
In 19 trips for games at Memphis, UCF has managed only a single win (in 2018).
UCF is three quarters of the way through a challenging four-game, eight-day road swing. The final leg is a Saturday contest at Tulsa (6 p.m. EST on ESPNU/2).
The Knights then return to Orlando for two home games next week—Wednesday against Wichita State and Friday versus Tulsa (both at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN+).
The two games against UCF were the first two of a four-game homestand for Memphis.
"We're just taking it one game at a time," said Dawkins. "Every game is an opportunity to get better and win a game. We're staying positive with that. We've been knocked down in this stretch, but we know we can get back up. That's the approach we're taking. And our guys have responded."
