Orlando, Fla. – The Knights came into tonight’s contest looking to turn their losing ways around and avenge the 82-52 loss they suffered against Houston on Feb. 13. But Houston pulled away from the Knights at end of the first-half with a 16-3 run and carried their momentum throughout the game.
Jones identifies a lack of confidence as the reason the Knights suffered such a wide loss.
“We’re so fragile right now because we’ve lost a few games,” said head coach Donnie Jones. “We’re we’re down 12 at half, you thought we were down, 30, our guys were down,” said Head Coach Donnie Jones.
The Knights’ shots were not falling early-on in the contest, but their stingy defense kept them competitive in the first-half.
“Whenever the defense slows down, that’s when things change,” said freshman guard Chance McSpadden. “If the defense not playing well, it’s hard to get points on the offensive end.”
UCF’s offense held stagnant for most of the game, with them having to settle for three-point field goals. The Knights went 5-25 from three-point range for the game and shot 40.6 percent overall from the field.
“The game was invented to score and we’ve struggled to do that and I think it just takes the confidence out of these guys, Jones said. “Even when they got open shots their not sure if they’re going down.”
If the Knights want to finish the season on a strong note, they have to find some kind of offensive flow.
“It’s one game, obviously I apologize for the fans for having to see that,” Jones said. “But these guys will grow through it. “It’s not about necessarily just practice right now, we been practicing hard. It’s about us being able to push through things when things get tough and this week we gotta get our confidence back.”
UCF squares off against the Temple Owls this Saturday Feb. 27, as they try to break from an unwanted streak.
