Orlando, Fla.- The Knights’ dismal beginning to in-conference play continued Saturday night with a 58-46 loss to SMU (13-4, 3-2) while playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since a January 4th victory over Temple.
Subpar shooting did UCF (9-7, 1-4) in, as the Knights were only able to convert 31.3% of their shots from the field and 50% of their free-throw attempts. Tristen Spurlock was able to sink three of his three-point shots, leading the team with 11 points – the only Knight to put up double digits.
The lack of production on the opportunities that were presented to them were only magnified by UCF losing the turnover battle, ending the day with a -3 ratio and 19 total turnovers.
“I think we made a lot of mental mistakes down the stretch,” said Spurlock.
Indeed, the Knights held the game firmly in their grasp at halftime. Heading into the intermission tied at 22 before falling to a 35-32 deficit that would never be overcome, escalating to a 13 point difference at its worst and finalizing at 12 points.
It is the fourth loss in five conference games for UCF, who find themselves staring down 9th place in the AAC, only one game ahead of the last place USF Bulls. With only 13 games left in the regular season, the Knights will need to turn around their plummet to the cellar immediately if they wish to be relevant in the future.
UCF will play next on Thursday, January 23, visiting the American Athletic Conference leading Cincinnati Bearcats (17-2, 6-0). Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m.
