Despite going down by 14 points on multiple occasions, the Knights continued to battle, whittling away at the UCLA margin down the stretch. UCF had flairs of moments to put themselves in position late, but the Bruins generated stops when they needed them most.
UCLA struggled to find its offensive rhythm early, missing shots on its first six possessions, allowing the Knights to build a six-point lead by the 17-minute mark. The Bruins didn’t stay quiet for long, however, quickly responding with five straight buckets over a two-minute stretch to tie the game at 10 apiece.
The Knights soon struggled to generate offense, committing five turnovers in a four-minute stretch that led to an equally long scoring drought. The Bruins fully capitalized, going on a 14-2 run to build a 10-point lead, 22-12, by the 9:18 mark.
Though a three from Jordan Burks briefly snapped the lull, UCLA continued to suffocate the Knights' offensive efforts, leaving them down 31-18 with just under five to play in the opening frame.
Despite their inconsistency early on, the Knights found their rhythm down the stretch, fueled by a trio of three-pointers. Meanwhile, their defensive intensity held the Bruins to just one made shot over their final eight attempts, allowing the Knights to cut the deficit to single digits, 35-27, heading into the break.
Although both teams performed similarly on the offensive end, UCLA shooting 41 percent in the first half compared to UCF’s 36 percent, it was the Knights’ early turnovers that proved to be their Achilles’ heel. The Bruins forced 11 first-half giveaways, converting them into 14 points, while only giving away three of their own.
The Knights’ offense ran into many of the same issues that plagued them in the first half, and within four minutes of the start of the second half, they trailed by 14, 46-32. But after forcing back-to-back stops on the Bruins’ inbounds plays, the momentum began to shift. The Knights found their rhythm offensively, bursting out on an 11-0 run, sparked by consecutive three-pointers from Burks, to cut the deficit to just three, 46-43, with 13:58 remaining.
A five-minute scoring drought midway through the second half proved costly for the Knights, who found themselves back in a double-digit hole, 58-44, with 7:56 to play. Des[ite the challenge, the Knights showed resilience down the stretch, using a late push to cut the deficit to six, 66-60, with under a minute remaining.
Following a back-and-forth final stretch, Burks knocked down a clutch three-pointer to bring the Knights within three, 72-69, with just 10 seconds left. However, the Bruins converted at the line in the closing seconds to secure the result, as the Knights’ comeback effort came up short, 75-71.
Burks finished the night with a career-best six three pointers and led the Knights with 22 points, two marks shy of tying his career high in scoring. Kugel, Stillwell and Fulks also notched doulbe-digit points, posting 13, 10 and 10, respectively.
The loss brings UCF's season to a close. It was a year in which the Knights made their sixth NCAA Tournament in program history, tallying 21 victories along the way. The Black and Gold posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2012-13. A trio of ranked wins, including yet another win over Kansas in Orlando, cracked UCF back into the top 25 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2019.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.
