Written By: Erik Slaby
(Orlando, FL) On a cool afternoon here at CFE Arena, the University of Connecticut Huskies defeated the University of Central Florida Knights, 66-63. It was a bit of a sloppy affair in the first half and for most of the second half it looked like Connecticut would win in a blowout fashion but UCF was able to come back and made the game close for the last five minutes.
In the first half, it seemed to take a while for both teams to find their footing as the first points of the game were not scored until the 16:53 mark. Connecticut started off with a 4-0 run before UCF countered with a 6-0 run. While the game was close for the majority of the first half, Connecticut closed the half with a 13-1 run.
Connecticut was led by guard Rodney Purvis, who led all scorers with 17 points in the first half. Forward Kentan Facey also contributed with eight points. UCF forward Tank Efianaya led UCF with eight points. The biggest factor in Connecticut’s favor in the first half was that they 43% of their shots while UCF only made roughly 28% of their shots.
In the second half, it looked like UCF was going to get blown out as Connecticut had taken a commanding 16 point lead with eight minutes left to play. However, UCF was able to go on an 11-0 run, highlighted by two massive dunks from guard A.J. Davis. Those two dunks brought crowd back into the game and the CFE Arena was rocking at that point. While UCF was able to get back in the game, it was too little, too late as Connecticut was able to close out the victory.
Connecticut was led by Purvis who finished with 18 points, guards Jalen Adams and Christian Vital added 14 points apiece, Facey contributed 12 points and center Amida Brimah led the team in rebounds with 12. While Connecticut had 14 turnovers, they shot extremely well as they made nearly 70% of their three-point attempts and shot 44% from the field. They also made 64% of their free throw attempts. So all in all, a very good shooting night for Connecticut.
UCF was led by guard B.J. Taylor who finished with 20 points, forward Nick Banyard added 13 points and Efianayi also added 10 points. Center Tacko Fall led the team in rebounds with 11. Even though UCF was able to get back into the game late in the second half, it was not enough to make up for their poor shooting and defensive woes.
UCF shot a dreadful 26% from the three-point line and 34% from the field. On defense, they also left several Connecticut players wide open numerous times and allowed them to shoot uncontested shots. The majority of those shots were from the three-point line. UCF will have to improve defensively, as well as offensively, in order to have a chance to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
UCF will need to fix these issues quickly as their next game is on February, 14th against the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes at 7PM EST here at CFE Arena. Connecticut travels back home to the XL Center to face the University of Memphis Tigers at 9PM EST.
In the first half, it seemed to take a while for both teams to find their footing as the first points of the game were not scored until the 16:53 mark. Connecticut started off with a 4-0 run before UCF countered with a 6-0 run. While the game was close for the majority of the first half, Connecticut closed the half with a 13-1 run.
Connecticut was led by guard Rodney Purvis, who led all scorers with 17 points in the first half. Forward Kentan Facey also contributed with eight points. UCF forward Tank Efianaya led UCF with eight points. The biggest factor in Connecticut’s favor in the first half was that they 43% of their shots while UCF only made roughly 28% of their shots.
In the second half, it looked like UCF was going to get blown out as Connecticut had taken a commanding 16 point lead with eight minutes left to play. However, UCF was able to go on an 11-0 run, highlighted by two massive dunks from guard A.J. Davis. Those two dunks brought crowd back into the game and the CFE Arena was rocking at that point. While UCF was able to get back in the game, it was too little, too late as Connecticut was able to close out the victory.
Connecticut was led by Purvis who finished with 18 points, guards Jalen Adams and Christian Vital added 14 points apiece, Facey contributed 12 points and center Amida Brimah led the team in rebounds with 12. While Connecticut had 14 turnovers, they shot extremely well as they made nearly 70% of their three-point attempts and shot 44% from the field. They also made 64% of their free throw attempts. So all in all, a very good shooting night for Connecticut.
UCF was led by guard B.J. Taylor who finished with 20 points, forward Nick Banyard added 13 points and Efianayi also added 10 points. Center Tacko Fall led the team in rebounds with 11. Even though UCF was able to get back into the game late in the second half, it was not enough to make up for their poor shooting and defensive woes.
UCF shot a dreadful 26% from the three-point line and 34% from the field. On defense, they also left several Connecticut players wide open numerous times and allowed them to shoot uncontested shots. The majority of those shots were from the three-point line. UCF will have to improve defensively, as well as offensively, in order to have a chance to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
UCF will need to fix these issues quickly as their next game is on February, 14th against the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes at 7PM EST here at CFE Arena. Connecticut travels back home to the XL Center to face the University of Memphis Tigers at 9PM EST.