Written by Adrian Beecher
Orlando, FL- A.J. Davis scored 19 points, and Shaheed Davis grabbed 12 boards, but it just wasn’t enough as the UCF’s Men’s basketball team lost their home opener to UC Irvine 61-60. Luke Nelson led the way for the UCI with 22 points and six assists, including four baskets from beyond the arc.
The matchup everyone was watching was the battle of the 7-ft. 6-in centers in UCF’s Tacko Fall and UCI’s Mamadou Ndiaye. It was the first known time that two men this large played against each other in the NCAA.
“Before the game we got to do a photo shoot. That was earlier in the day. He’s from the same country as me…. Said Fall of the meeting with Mamadou. … “He’s a Junior, and I’m just in my second game. So he gave me some advice and told me to keep working hard and keep playing.”
Fall got the best of this matchup early on, tallying two blocked shots against the big man from UCI. Tacko finished the game with four total blocks, 6 points and seven rebounds. His counterpart, Mamadou, tallied 5 points, two rebounds and no block’s.
Despite Mamadou struggles, the Anteaters were clinging to a 26-24 lead on the Knights at the half. UCF was winning the rebounding battle 33 to 16 at the half, but only shooting 26.7% from the field, while UCI shot 32.4%.
With 12:31 left to play in the 2nd half, UCF had jumped out to a 40-33 led, their largest lead of the game. That is when the Anteaters went on a 14 to 5 run in 6 minutes and 15 seconds to regain the lead, making it 47-45.
Things stayed close all the way to the final seconds, as Tacko Fall laid down a thunderous dunk with 26 seconds left in regulation to tie the game up at 58. Luke Nelson missed a possible game-winning three with 8 seconds left for UCI, and the Knights were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime.
“It was half court, so the first thing we didn’t want to do was throw the ball away and get a steal. We were just trying to get the ball in the middle of the floor, and trying to get a drive and get a shot up.” Said UCF Head Coach Donnie Jones of the final sequence at the end of regulation.
In overtime, UCI scored on their first possession to take a 60-58 lead on UCF with 4:20 left in OT. UCF quickly drew back even after UCI’s Nelson picked up his second personal foul of the game, which sent A.J. Davis to the line and he knocked both shots down for the Knights.
With 1:49 left to play in the overtime period, Fall fouled Mamadou, sending him to the line shooting two. The big man only hit one of two shots, but that gave the Anteaters a 61-60 lead over UCF with 1:49 left to play.
UCF still had a chance to take the victory in the last 8 seconds, but A.J. Davis missed a layup. The Knights did get the rebound and call timeout, but the inbound play did not work as planned, and Adonys Henriquez missed a 3-pointer and that would seal the deal for UC Irvine.
UCF will be looking to get their first win of the season this Saturday when they play UNC Greensboro at 7pm at CFE Arena, in their 2nd straight home game of the season.
The matchup everyone was watching was the battle of the 7-ft. 6-in centers in UCF’s Tacko Fall and UCI’s Mamadou Ndiaye. It was the first known time that two men this large played against each other in the NCAA.
“Before the game we got to do a photo shoot. That was earlier in the day. He’s from the same country as me…. Said Fall of the meeting with Mamadou. … “He’s a Junior, and I’m just in my second game. So he gave me some advice and told me to keep working hard and keep playing.”
Fall got the best of this matchup early on, tallying two blocked shots against the big man from UCI. Tacko finished the game with four total blocks, 6 points and seven rebounds. His counterpart, Mamadou, tallied 5 points, two rebounds and no block’s.
Despite Mamadou struggles, the Anteaters were clinging to a 26-24 lead on the Knights at the half. UCF was winning the rebounding battle 33 to 16 at the half, but only shooting 26.7% from the field, while UCI shot 32.4%.
With 12:31 left to play in the 2nd half, UCF had jumped out to a 40-33 led, their largest lead of the game. That is when the Anteaters went on a 14 to 5 run in 6 minutes and 15 seconds to regain the lead, making it 47-45.
Things stayed close all the way to the final seconds, as Tacko Fall laid down a thunderous dunk with 26 seconds left in regulation to tie the game up at 58. Luke Nelson missed a possible game-winning three with 8 seconds left for UCI, and the Knights were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime.
“It was half court, so the first thing we didn’t want to do was throw the ball away and get a steal. We were just trying to get the ball in the middle of the floor, and trying to get a drive and get a shot up.” Said UCF Head Coach Donnie Jones of the final sequence at the end of regulation.
In overtime, UCI scored on their first possession to take a 60-58 lead on UCF with 4:20 left in OT. UCF quickly drew back even after UCI’s Nelson picked up his second personal foul of the game, which sent A.J. Davis to the line and he knocked both shots down for the Knights.
With 1:49 left to play in the overtime period, Fall fouled Mamadou, sending him to the line shooting two. The big man only hit one of two shots, but that gave the Anteaters a 61-60 lead over UCF with 1:49 left to play.
UCF still had a chance to take the victory in the last 8 seconds, but A.J. Davis missed a layup. The Knights did get the rebound and call timeout, but the inbound play did not work as planned, and Adonys Henriquez missed a 3-pointer and that would seal the deal for UC Irvine.
UCF will be looking to get their first win of the season this Saturday when they play UNC Greensboro at 7pm at CFE Arena, in their 2nd straight home game of the season.