Redshirt freshman forward Dave Diakite scored a career high 21 points as the UCF men’s basketball team held on for a 76-72 win over Albany.
Diakite provided some sensational highlights throughout the game as he gave the fans three stellar dunks including one beauty off an inbound play. He also made the play of the game to get the win.
With 4 seconds left and the Knights leading 74-72, Diakite picked off an inbounds pass by the Great Danes (3-4) and made both free throws to seal the victory for the Knights.
Isaac Sosa added 13 points, shooting 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, and Taylor Young scored 10 for UCF. Young’s layup and free throw gave the Knights their 74-72 lead with just over 1 minute to play.
The team looked to be quite lackadaisical on the floor tonight which Coach Kirk Speraw said was a reflection of the way the team performed in practices this past week.
“We were too lazy on the defensive side of the ball,” said Coach Speraw. “We’ll look correct that this week.”
A.J. Rompza once again provided a much needed spark as he jumped out of bounds near our own basket to throw a behind the head pass to Sosa for a fast break lay up.
The Knights improved to 5-1 on the year with the victory and will take on Newberry this Tuesday.
