ORLANDO, Fla. – The Knights lost for the third time in conference play Sunday in a physical 70-61 defeat to the SMU Mustangs.
Spearheaded by legendary coach Larry Brown, the Mustangs never fell behind after taking the lead early in the first half. The SMU defense stifled the Knights for the entirety of the game, effectively forcing them to play from outside of the paint with pressure that was as quick and aggressive as it was unrelenting.
Though they could never truly eclipse the Mustang’s lead, UCF was able to match pace and keep the differential consistently around ten points after ending the first half down 30-26.
There was never a time when the players quit.
“Our biggest thing is to just continue to play, regardless of what the score is,” said Donnie Jones.
The display of heart and progression of such a young team left an impression on Coach Brown, who spoke of UCF with distinct respect.
“Donnie’s got a young team, I’ve watched them a lot; they’re getting better by the minute,” Brown said. “We didn’t take this game lightly.”
UCF was able to get off more shots than the Mustangs – a result of 13 turnovers and some sloppy play from SMU – but it just seemed that none of them would hit the mark. They managed a shooting percentage of only 36.2% from all over the field and 28% from three point range.
“We just couldn’t knock down our open shots like we normally do. We normally make some shots but tonight we struggled,” Adonys Henriquez said.
B.J. Taylor, Adonys Henriquez and Brandon Goodwin all led the team with 11 points each, but went 11-35 from the field. All three struggled to find room in the interior and rarely had opportunities to get off a clean shot. Even still, UCF hustled with inspiring intensity for 60 minutes.
Goodwin gave the Knights a charge of momentum as the first half expired, sinking his first shot of the day from deep for another clutch three-pointer.
The Mustangs were too quick for the defense at numerous points throughout the game, scoring 17 points on fast breaks and darting in for 34 points in the paint. In comparison, UCF had 3 points off of a single fast break and 24 inside.
Now in the heat of conference play, the Knights are 8-7 overall with a 1-3 record in the American. SMU is now second in the conference and boasts a 3-1 conference record.
Tulane shares a 3-1 AAC record as well, and will come into town on Wednesday as the Knights get a quick shot at redemption.
