ORLANDO – The UCF men's basketball team is back in action on Friday at 7 p.m. as they host Florida State inside Addition Financial Arena.
The Knights suffered a double overtime defeat their last time out, falling to UNC Ashville on opening night by a score of 98-95. It was the first loss for the Knights under head coach Johnny Dawkins in a home opener after winning the previous six. The Black and Gold protect home court extremely well with Dawkins at the helm, posting a record of 71-22. Last season, UCF was 13-1 when leading with five minutes remaining, but will start this year 0-1 in that category after holding a 64-59 lead with five minutes to play.
The Knights had five players score double digits on Monday. Taylor Hendricks led the way with 23 points in his collegiate debut while grabbing five rebounds and tallying three blocks. Just behind Hendricks was C.J. Kelly who finished the night with 20 points and scored UCF's first seven points of the first overtime period. Brandon Suggs scored 16 points while Ithiel Horton scored 12 and Michael Durr added 11. The last time UCF had five players scoring 10 or more points was back on Mar. 11, 2021 at home against ECU.
UCF attempted 81 field goals in Monday's game, attempting 80 or more for the first time since 2010 when the Knights made 40 of 88 field goals on the road on Feb. 27 against Marshall in a 121-115 triple overtime loss. The Black and Gold nearly made 40 field goals for the first time since that occurrence at Marshall, sinking 37 total field goals against UNC Asheville.
All nine Knights that played on Monday made their UCF debuts. Eight of them were not on last year's roster, with the lone exception being P.J. Edwards, who did not play during the 2021-22 season.
UCF is 19-5 against Florida foes under coach Dawkins. Last season, the Black and Gold earned victories at Miami, vs. Jacksonville, vs. Bethune-Cookman, and took two of three against South Florida. The Knights are scheduled to play five more contests against teams from Florida, hosting Florida State (Nov. 11), Miami (Nov. 27), Stetson (Dec. 21) and playing a home and away against South Florida (away Jan. 21, home Feb. 22).
Florida State was defeated by Stetson in its home opener, falling to the Hatters 83-74.
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