Written By: Ernie Casanova
ORLANDO, FL-- UCF came in with hopes of moving on from their tough losses against St John’s and West Virginia in last week’s AdvoCare Invitational tournament. Missouri, coming off of a devastating loss of their own in the tournament’s championship game against the Mountaineers, also came in with the mindset of putting it past them. The Tigers began things a little choppy, but everything came together in time to hand the Knights their third straight loss by a score of 62-59.
The Knights started off strong, taking an early 4-0 lead on two quick baskets. Missouri responded without hesitation and kept tying the score until it was 9-9. Knights’ forward Ceasar Dejesus along with center Tacko Fall created some separation on the board with two easy layups to set the pace. The Knights went on an 8-0 run as Missouri went cold after starting off shooting 4-7 from the floor. Soon it became 17-9, and the Tigers just weren’t able to drain any of their shots. They finally scored with 7:57 left in the 1st half to make it 17-11 after going 0-7 from the floor since the 15:02 mark.
With three minutes left in the first, Missouri found its rhythm, sinking in two straight three-pointers to make a 21-18 deficit into a 24-21 lead. After a few free throws and a layup off of a fast break, Missouri extended their lead and took it into the locker room with them at halftime. They led the Knights 29-24 after the first quarter of play. Knights forward A.J Davis and Tacko Fall led the way for the team in the 1st half. Davis had six points with five rebounds, while Fall contributed six points and two rebounds, making all three of his shots. As for Missouri, guard Kassius Robertson led the team in scoring in the first 20 minutes, notching 11 points on 4-6 shooting and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Forward Jordan Barnett sat behind Robertson, having seven points and two assists.
In the second half, Missouri scored on their first two possessions, carrying over their hot streak from the previous quarter. Robertson took little time continue his fast pace of play and scored the first bucket for the team. UCF was having trouble recreating some of the movement from the first half, and they started to fall behind. With the Tigers owning a 48-41 lead and 7:42 left to go, Barnett dropped a floater in for two points after an A.J. Davis three-point play, and it was a reminder to the fans of what was to keep coming. No matter what UCF answered back with, the Tigers had found their game and were executing every step of the way.
In the last five minutes, the Knights were valiantly fighting for the win, hitting their shots and capitalizing off of the Tigers’ miscues. After a Dejesus three-pointer went in, the ensuing possession consisted of another three-point play from Davis, and it electrified the CFE Arena. Within the final two minutes, both teams traded shots, with UCF hitting a crucial three-pointer to bring the score to 59-57. As the Knights sent the Tigers to the free throw line shortly after, Barnett hit two consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach.
It was back and forth for much of the quarter, but Missouri maintained a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the game and pulled out the much-needed win. All around, it was an above-average performance for the Tigers, and they showed no signs of slowing down, unlike the way they gave up a late lead to the Mountaineers last week.
Leading the way for the Tigers was Robertson, who had the hot hand most of the night. He finished with 19 points and two assists on 7-10 shooting. Barnett also had 19 points and six rebounds, while forward Jeremiah Tilmon also contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. As for the Knights, A.J Davis led them in scoring with 14 points to go with nine assists, while Tacko Fall added 12 points and six rebounds.
After their first win in the AdvoCare Invitational against Nebraska, the Knights have slowly been falling off course since their 4-0 start. UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins speaks on the three-game skid and positively says that it might be beneficial to his players, considering who their opponents have been. He states:
“We faced a ranked team already. We’ll face another one now (Alabama). We’ve faced some good basketball teams like I said this whole season. Look at all of our games we played. That’s gonna help us, and Alabama is no different. We’ll watch the tapes, and learn from there. They’re a very good basketball team. You know, with really good guard play. They are playing well this year.”
UCF (4-3) plays #24 Alabama next on Sunday, while Missouri (6-2) will next take on the University of Miami-Ohio this upcoming Tuesday.
The Knights started off strong, taking an early 4-0 lead on two quick baskets. Missouri responded without hesitation and kept tying the score until it was 9-9. Knights’ forward Ceasar Dejesus along with center Tacko Fall created some separation on the board with two easy layups to set the pace. The Knights went on an 8-0 run as Missouri went cold after starting off shooting 4-7 from the floor. Soon it became 17-9, and the Tigers just weren’t able to drain any of their shots. They finally scored with 7:57 left in the 1st half to make it 17-11 after going 0-7 from the floor since the 15:02 mark.
With three minutes left in the first, Missouri found its rhythm, sinking in two straight three-pointers to make a 21-18 deficit into a 24-21 lead. After a few free throws and a layup off of a fast break, Missouri extended their lead and took it into the locker room with them at halftime. They led the Knights 29-24 after the first quarter of play. Knights forward A.J Davis and Tacko Fall led the way for the team in the 1st half. Davis had six points with five rebounds, while Fall contributed six points and two rebounds, making all three of his shots. As for Missouri, guard Kassius Robertson led the team in scoring in the first 20 minutes, notching 11 points on 4-6 shooting and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Forward Jordan Barnett sat behind Robertson, having seven points and two assists.
In the second half, Missouri scored on their first two possessions, carrying over their hot streak from the previous quarter. Robertson took little time continue his fast pace of play and scored the first bucket for the team. UCF was having trouble recreating some of the movement from the first half, and they started to fall behind. With the Tigers owning a 48-41 lead and 7:42 left to go, Barnett dropped a floater in for two points after an A.J. Davis three-point play, and it was a reminder to the fans of what was to keep coming. No matter what UCF answered back with, the Tigers had found their game and were executing every step of the way.
In the last five minutes, the Knights were valiantly fighting for the win, hitting their shots and capitalizing off of the Tigers’ miscues. After a Dejesus three-pointer went in, the ensuing possession consisted of another three-point play from Davis, and it electrified the CFE Arena. Within the final two minutes, both teams traded shots, with UCF hitting a crucial three-pointer to bring the score to 59-57. As the Knights sent the Tigers to the free throw line shortly after, Barnett hit two consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach.
It was back and forth for much of the quarter, but Missouri maintained a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the game and pulled out the much-needed win. All around, it was an above-average performance for the Tigers, and they showed no signs of slowing down, unlike the way they gave up a late lead to the Mountaineers last week.
Leading the way for the Tigers was Robertson, who had the hot hand most of the night. He finished with 19 points and two assists on 7-10 shooting. Barnett also had 19 points and six rebounds, while forward Jeremiah Tilmon also contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. As for the Knights, A.J Davis led them in scoring with 14 points to go with nine assists, while Tacko Fall added 12 points and six rebounds.
After their first win in the AdvoCare Invitational against Nebraska, the Knights have slowly been falling off course since their 4-0 start. UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins speaks on the three-game skid and positively says that it might be beneficial to his players, considering who their opponents have been. He states:
“We faced a ranked team already. We’ll face another one now (Alabama). We’ve faced some good basketball teams like I said this whole season. Look at all of our games we played. That’s gonna help us, and Alabama is no different. We’ll watch the tapes, and learn from there. They’re a very good basketball team. You know, with really good guard play. They are playing well this year.”
UCF (4-3) plays #24 Alabama next on Sunday, while Missouri (6-2) will next take on the University of Miami-Ohio this upcoming Tuesday.