After an emotionally draining upset victory over the defending national champion UConn Huskies Friday, the UCF Men’s Basketball team was not able to carry that momentum over, losing to Harvard in the championship game of the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament Saturday.
The Knights (4-2) struggled to produce offense throughout the game and weren’t able to overcome a 33-18 halftime deficit in a 59-49 loss to the Crimson at Imperial Arena in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
“We are obviously happy with the first couple of games, but anytime that you have the chance to win a championship, you want to win,” UCF head coach Donnie Jones said in a press release from UCFAthletics.com. “We fell short tonight. Give Harvard credit. They came out ready to play and did the things that they needed to.”
Kyle Casey led the undefeated Crimson (6-0) with 15 points and nine rebounds, while tournament MVP Keith Wright contributed 12 points and seven boards.
Harvard, who upset No. 22 Florida State on Friday, is receiving national votes in both polls after its hot start.
The Knights simply seemed fatigued in the game, a mere 24 hours after picking up their biggest win in program history over the No. 4 Huskies. UCF trailed the entire game and suffered from poor shooting from the floor and the free throw line.
UCF shot an abysmal one-for-11 from the three-point line and only 33 percent from the field. The Knights free throw woes, which appeared to be improved against UConn, doomed them in the contest. They shot eight-of-23 (35 percent) from the charity stripe.
Marcus Jordan, who had 37 points through the first two games of the tournament, cooled off and posted only 10 points on four-of-15 shooting. He had trouble finding a rhythm in the game as the Harvard defense smothered the junior any time he drove to the basket.
Keith Clanton led the Knights with 12 points, eight boards and three assists, while Isaiah Sykes chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.
In addition to struggling to find points, the UCF defense couldn’t contain an aggressive Harvard offense, which overpowered the Knights with its jump shooting and driving that helped them draw plenty of fouls.
The Crimson got to the foul line 35 times in the game, making 23 of their attempts. They also shot 43 percent from the floor.
UCF played from behind the entire game, beginning with an 8-1 deficit to start the game. The Knights simply failed to find a rhythm and allowed Harvard to set the tone.
After overcoming a 17-point deficit against UConn on Friday, the Knights couldn’t produce the same type of magic, ultimately being doomed by the lack of execution on both sides of the ball.
UCF will return to Orlando with the satisfaction of upsetting the defending national champions and getting a confidence-building victory. They will return to action next Saturday when they host Hartford at the UCF Arena at 5 p.m.
