Written by Ernie Casanova
Orlando, FL - After starting off hot, the UCF Knights cooled off fast and easy as the West Virginia Mountaineers proved to be too much for them. WVU advanced to the championship game of the Advocare Invitational with a convincing 83-45 victory.
UCF got off to a fast start against the Mountaineers in today’s semifinal game. Center Tacko Fall started the evening attacking the glass for the Knights strongly. Two offensive rebounds earned him the first basket of the game and then a shot at the charity line the following possession. Three minutes into the game, Fall had four points and four rebounds to set the pace for his team. The Knights were taking advantage of yet another poor shooting performance from West Virginia, as the Mountaineers went 2-8 from the field in the beginning. But in a short amount of time, WVU picked up the pace and went on a 8-0 run to gain the lead over the Knights.
UCF had 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes and started to lose the rebound battle as Fall was taken out the game for some early rest. As Fall reentered the game, that seemed to have no effect as the Mountaineers had already set the tempo. WVU forward Sagaba Konate didn’t miss a step from the previous night, coming out hot with four quick points and four rebounds of his own. WVU point guard Jevon Carter hit an early three-pointer that sparked the Mountaineers run. WVU went on a 28-3 run and had a large 30-9 lead with seven minutes left to play in the first half.
The first half ended with WVU owning a commanding 43-20 lead over UCF. WVUat one point led by as many as 40 points and the entire second half was in favor of the Mountaineers. UCF never regained the lead after their first basket from the start of the game.
Carter had another successful outing for WVU, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and five assists. Carter did struggle shooting from the field a bit, going 7-17 and also had three turnovers. Still, he led and kept his team rolling even when the Knights came out swarming with a full court defense in the second half. Konate finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds and almost achieved a second straight double-double. WVU guard Daxter Miles Jr. was efficient again, notching 14 points with four assists and four rebounds and fellow guard James Bolden had the hot hand with 17 points, shooting 4-8 from the three point line.
The Knights slowed down quickly after a promising first few minutes. Within the first five minutes of the game they scored six points, but only scored 10 points in the rest of the first half. UCF was hindered by the fact that they turned the ball over 27 times. Although they forced 16 turnovers of their own, they did not capitalize on them as they only scored 12 points off of them. In comparison, WVU scored 27 points off of turnovers. Fall led the way for the Knights, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds. AJ Davis also contributed with seven points and 10 rebounds.
After the game, a disappointed UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins stated, “for us this is very disappointing about how we played. I thought we could’ve played better. But you have to give them credit for making us play that way. We have to improve from here. This a teachable moment and I think we will be better because of this game.”
For the second straight night, the Mountaineers had forced more than 10 turnovers before the first half even started. It was tremendous defensive effort and one that surely made WVU head coach Bob Huggins happier than he was last night.
Dawkins also spoke about West Virginia’s vaunted defense saying, “they’re a pressing team. It was going to be hard to run the offense because they try to take you out of everything and make you create plays. We’re gonna have to learn what we need to do under that type of pressure.” The Knights were under attack the whole game and it was visible that they had no answer.
West Virginia will now stroll into Sunday with a spot in the championship game against Missouri at 7:00 PM ET.
UCF got off to a fast start against the Mountaineers in today’s semifinal game. Center Tacko Fall started the evening attacking the glass for the Knights strongly. Two offensive rebounds earned him the first basket of the game and then a shot at the charity line the following possession. Three minutes into the game, Fall had four points and four rebounds to set the pace for his team. The Knights were taking advantage of yet another poor shooting performance from West Virginia, as the Mountaineers went 2-8 from the field in the beginning. But in a short amount of time, WVU picked up the pace and went on a 8-0 run to gain the lead over the Knights.
UCF had 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes and started to lose the rebound battle as Fall was taken out the game for some early rest. As Fall reentered the game, that seemed to have no effect as the Mountaineers had already set the tempo. WVU forward Sagaba Konate didn’t miss a step from the previous night, coming out hot with four quick points and four rebounds of his own. WVU point guard Jevon Carter hit an early three-pointer that sparked the Mountaineers run. WVU went on a 28-3 run and had a large 30-9 lead with seven minutes left to play in the first half.
The first half ended with WVU owning a commanding 43-20 lead over UCF. WVUat one point led by as many as 40 points and the entire second half was in favor of the Mountaineers. UCF never regained the lead after their first basket from the start of the game.
Carter had another successful outing for WVU, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and five assists. Carter did struggle shooting from the field a bit, going 7-17 and also had three turnovers. Still, he led and kept his team rolling even when the Knights came out swarming with a full court defense in the second half. Konate finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds and almost achieved a second straight double-double. WVU guard Daxter Miles Jr. was efficient again, notching 14 points with four assists and four rebounds and fellow guard James Bolden had the hot hand with 17 points, shooting 4-8 from the three point line.
The Knights slowed down quickly after a promising first few minutes. Within the first five minutes of the game they scored six points, but only scored 10 points in the rest of the first half. UCF was hindered by the fact that they turned the ball over 27 times. Although they forced 16 turnovers of their own, they did not capitalize on them as they only scored 12 points off of them. In comparison, WVU scored 27 points off of turnovers. Fall led the way for the Knights, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds. AJ Davis also contributed with seven points and 10 rebounds.
After the game, a disappointed UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins stated, “for us this is very disappointing about how we played. I thought we could’ve played better. But you have to give them credit for making us play that way. We have to improve from here. This a teachable moment and I think we will be better because of this game.”
For the second straight night, the Mountaineers had forced more than 10 turnovers before the first half even started. It was tremendous defensive effort and one that surely made WVU head coach Bob Huggins happier than he was last night.
Dawkins also spoke about West Virginia’s vaunted defense saying, “they’re a pressing team. It was going to be hard to run the offense because they try to take you out of everything and make you create plays. We’re gonna have to learn what we need to do under that type of pressure.” The Knights were under attack the whole game and it was visible that they had no answer.
West Virginia will now stroll into Sunday with a spot in the championship game against Missouri at 7:00 PM ET.