Orlando, Fla.- UCF starts the season off 2-0 for the second consecutive year, after squeaking by Gardner-Webb tonight 68 to 65.
It was the first game with Tacko Fall and B.J. Taylor out, and it showed. They had 16 turnovers and shot 38.8% from the field. They had trouble getting a flow going on offense, which was to be expected.
“It’s going to be a process, we lost two players in two weeks that were in the rotation and that’s going to change the guys’ roles,” Coach Dawson said. “It’s going to come, it’s just a process.”
Terrell Allen stepped in for B.J. tonight at the point and played well. He shot 100% from the field, scoring 12 points. He also added in 3 assists and 3 steals.
“Terrell was very solid, he made some huge plays for us in the second half,” Coach Dawson said about the new starting point guard. “He is going to grow from this game.”
Chad Brown played a nice game off the bench. Chad got his first ever career double-double, with 10 points and 10 boards. His offense was not his key contribution though, Chad had 5 blocks. He has provided a spark for this team.
“Chad is playing really well, he has been doing a great job protecting that rim,” Coach Dawson explained.
It was a tough win tonight, The Knights worked hard on the defensive end. They blocked 8 shots, and had 7 steals. It got them the win tonight, but they will need to play better offensively if they want to continue to win. Their shooting especially will need to improve, they shot 2-15 from 3. Their saving grace tonight was their 40 free throw attempts.
“I am a bit surprised by that (3-point shooting woes),” Coach Dawson explained. “We are a better shooting team than we’ve showed thus far, that I know. I have watched enough this offseason and during practices leading up to this game.”
UCF takes the floor again on Saturday, taking on William and Mary (1-1). The game will be at CFE arena at 2:00 PM. This will be another good opponent for UCF as of right now, due to UCF’s injuries.
