Written By Ernie Casanova ORLANDO, FL— It was a surprising start to an already underestimated matchup. After 40 minutes of tough basketball and constant battling, the UCF Knights held off the surging Southern Jaguars by a score of 76-60 The Knights won the tip-off, but Southern started the game with a groove draining in the first two shots. Knights forward Terrell Allen scored the first points for the team with a mid range jumper, and on the ensuing possession, Jaguars’ guard Eddie Reese hit a three pointer to give Southern a 7-2 lead. Ceasar Dejesus hit a another two pointer shortly after and the Knights got a momentous three point shot from Djordjije Mumin to tie the score 7-7. Another three pointer from Southern followed by a couple more layups from Dejesus and Allen made this a surprising back and forth quarter. Nine minutes into the game, the Knights had finally grabbed the lead on the scoreboard but battled to keep it, as the Jaguars kept fighting back. Throughout the first half, Southern came in hot and ready to play. The Jaguars made the right moves spacing the floor on their offensive possessions. They found their open man beyond the arc and used three pointers to keep them within reach. Shooting 44% from distance, Southern either held the lead or face a deficit no larger than three points. For the Jaguars, guard Eddie Reese led the way in the first half with 11 points on 3-6 shooting, draining two three pointers. He failed to score after that and finished with just those 11 points, while Jaguars’ forward Jared Sam led the way for the entire game with 13 points and nine rebounds. Guard Emanuel Sheperd also had 10 points of his own . The Knights were distributing the ball across the floor, with 8 players scoring a point to start the game. They were having much trouble executing off of Southern’s missed opportunities, which in turn hindered their chances of building the large lead they should’ve had. Mumin led the way for his squad with nine points on 3-5 shooting, with all shots from behind the arc in the first half. To begin the second half, Knight's first two buckets were made by A.J. Davis, as he scored eight points in the first seven minutes of the half. He and Dejesus both hit three points shot shortly, there after they came out of the locker room with a 10-2 run. Up 56-47 with 10 minutes to go, Chance McSpadden hit a long range three point shot to give them a 59-47 lead, as the Knights began to pull away. After the Jaguars started having trouble sinking in their shots, the Knights found a way to convert on all of their opportunities. The Knights were letting this become a close game by the end of the first 20 minutes, but a second half surge for the team in which they outscored the Jaguars 42-28 over the final 20 minutes assisted them greatly in improving to 6-3 "They're a tough team," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said of Southern. "They are a great shooting team and they have a great inside player in (Jared) Sam. It took a heck of a defensive effort, but I'm really proud of our guys, especially in the second half. I thought we were as efficient as we've been all year and we are able to come away with the win.” Tacko Fall had one of his best games as a Knight, with 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-9 shooting. Davis and Mumin both sat behind the seven footer with 12 points each of their own. Davis played more of the facilitator and play maker, also notching eight rebounds and seven assists. “I thought Tacko was really efficient tonight," Dawkins said. "I thought we found him and that's something that we want to do. We want to give him the basketball when he has the opportunity to be able to receive it and make plays. His aggressiveness was there, and he's hungry on the offensive end.” UCF will next take on the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Tuesday at 7:00PM ET. The Southern Jaguars get ready to travel to Iowa and take on the Hawkeyes tomorrow at 5:00PM ET. |
UCF's Men's Basketball
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