Written by Adrian Beecher
![Picture](/uploads/9/3/9/9/9399298/6805408_orig.jpg)
(Photo Credit: Colt Cardwell/ The SkyBoat)
Orlando, Fla- Freshmen B.J. Taylor and Adonys Henriquez combined for 25 points as the UCF Knights defeated the Stetson Hatters 64-55 in their season opener. Junior forward Shaheed Davis had a double-double in his first career game with the Knights, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 boards.
UCF and Stetson both got off to a slow start and their first half shooting percentages were nothing to cheer about. The Knights were 35.7% from the field, while the Hatters boasted an even worse percentage of 33.3%. At the 12:26 mark in the 1st prior the game was tied 12-12.
With 6:53 left in the 1st period the Hatters would get out to a 3 point lead on the Knights, as Devine Myles scored a layup making it 23-20, their only lead of the first half. The Knights answered subsequently with 2 free throws from Matt William's and consecutive points by Davis on a layup and a jumper to make it 26-23 UCF with 5:19 to play in the half.
The Knights would go on a 11-1 scoring run to give them their biggest lead of the half, making it 31-24 at the 3:35 mark.
At the halfway point UCF had a 34-28 lead on the Hatters. Shaheed Davis led the Knights with 8 rebounds at the half, while Adonys Henriquez led the Knights in scoring with 8 points.
“I just felt that we were fatigued mentally towards the end of the first half. I felt like we were just going through the motions and weren’t really focusing on boxouts and the simple things”, said Adonys Henriquez of the team’s first half struggles.
The Second half was a back and forth affair that saw eight lead changes between the Hatters and Knights in a little over 8 minutes. The final lead change came when B.J. Taylor sunk 2 free throws to put the Knights up 57-55 with 3:54 left to play.
UCF wouldn’t allow Stetson any more buckets after taking the lead for the final time, going on an 11-0 run to end the game.
Taylor scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half to lead the Knights in scoring in his first start as a UCF Knight.
“We’re trying to figure out who our go to guy is on this team and obviously he’s got the ability to score.” said UCF Head Coach Donnie Jones speaking on B.J. Taylor’s performance, “Sometimes you’ve got to live with some tough shots he took probably early on, but when a guy can score like that, you’ve got to live with that. I think he made some big plays, made some big free-throw’s. He’s just got that ability and that knack to either get fouled or score sometimes.”
UCF now turns their focus to Eckerd whom they will face this Thursday at CFE Arena, with a 7:00 pm tipoff time scheduled.
UCF and Stetson both got off to a slow start and their first half shooting percentages were nothing to cheer about. The Knights were 35.7% from the field, while the Hatters boasted an even worse percentage of 33.3%. At the 12:26 mark in the 1st prior the game was tied 12-12.
With 6:53 left in the 1st period the Hatters would get out to a 3 point lead on the Knights, as Devine Myles scored a layup making it 23-20, their only lead of the first half. The Knights answered subsequently with 2 free throws from Matt William's and consecutive points by Davis on a layup and a jumper to make it 26-23 UCF with 5:19 to play in the half.
The Knights would go on a 11-1 scoring run to give them their biggest lead of the half, making it 31-24 at the 3:35 mark.
At the halfway point UCF had a 34-28 lead on the Hatters. Shaheed Davis led the Knights with 8 rebounds at the half, while Adonys Henriquez led the Knights in scoring with 8 points.
“I just felt that we were fatigued mentally towards the end of the first half. I felt like we were just going through the motions and weren’t really focusing on boxouts and the simple things”, said Adonys Henriquez of the team’s first half struggles.
The Second half was a back and forth affair that saw eight lead changes between the Hatters and Knights in a little over 8 minutes. The final lead change came when B.J. Taylor sunk 2 free throws to put the Knights up 57-55 with 3:54 left to play.
UCF wouldn’t allow Stetson any more buckets after taking the lead for the final time, going on an 11-0 run to end the game.
Taylor scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half to lead the Knights in scoring in his first start as a UCF Knight.
“We’re trying to figure out who our go to guy is on this team and obviously he’s got the ability to score.” said UCF Head Coach Donnie Jones speaking on B.J. Taylor’s performance, “Sometimes you’ve got to live with some tough shots he took probably early on, but when a guy can score like that, you’ve got to live with that. I think he made some big plays, made some big free-throw’s. He’s just got that ability and that knack to either get fouled or score sometimes.”
UCF now turns their focus to Eckerd whom they will face this Thursday at CFE Arena, with a 7:00 pm tipoff time scheduled.