UCF Basketball drops its first, and only, game in the NCAA Tournament against the UCLA Bruins with the final score of 71-75. The loss officially ends the Knights’ season with a record of 21-12.
The Knights were off to a hot start in Philly as they were responsible for the first six points of the game. The Bruins would counter, and the game would be tied with under 16 minutes left in the half.
UCLA would have a one-point lead at the first media timeout, after a slow start. The score was 13-12 in favor of the Bruins with around 13 minutes left to play.
Returning from the media timeout, the Bruins would get some momentum going, and after starting 0/7, they had made eight straight as the Knights were beginning to struggle.
With 9:18 left in the first half, UCLA would have its largest lead so far, and UCF had no answer, causing coach Dawkins to call a timeout. The Bruins led 22-12.
Jordan Burks would hit a three with hopes of giving the Knights some light offensively. But UCLA would quickly turn off that light and continue building on its already-high lead.
It looked like it would be all Bruins basketball for the remainder of the half, but some quick buckets by the Knights would cut the deficit as the first half came to an end. The score at halftime favored UCLA 35-27.
Back from halftime, the Bruins would continue to dominate on offense. UCF would get some baskets, but the UCLA offense was too overpowering. They had a 12-point lead by the first media timeout.
A sequence that started with a steal by Themus Fulks, a three-pointer by Jordan Burks, a 10-second violation on the Bruins, and another three-pointer by Jordan Burks would shorten the UCLA lead to six as momentum was shifting in favor of the Knights.
UCF would cut it to three, but the Bruins regained all the momentum and extended their lead to eleven and counting.
As the clock kept ticking down, the deficit kept getting bigger, and the chances of a comeback kept getting slimmer. The Knights continued to find themselves down by 14 with under five minutes left in the game.
One final comeback would be attempted by UCF with 2:40 left. It seemed like a long shot, and with a minute remaining, they would begin to play the foul game. The clock continued to tick down, and with 28 seconds left, it was a six-point game.
The clock would not be on the Knights’ side, and as Jordan Burks would heave a prayer, the final buzzer went off, and UCLA would move on to the second round.
UCF ends its season with a 71-75 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Knights shot themselves in the foot by going 5/16 from the free-throw line. They also shot 37.5% from the field, adding to the disappointing loss.
The leading scorer for both teams was UCF’s Jordan Burks with 22 points. For UCLA, it was Eric Dailey Jr. with 20.
