ORLANDO, Fla. The Knights (10-14, 2-11) could not slow the Cincinnati Bearcats (24-3, 13-1) Wednesday, losing 77-49 to the American Athletic Conference powerhouse. Nobody said it would be easy, to find a gem of a game worthy of besting the conference’s first place team in a season of struggle. UCF, however, didn’t even come close.
“Give Cincinnati credit,” said Tristan Spurlock, “They came out and they seemed to execute what they were doing and we weren’t as competitive as we have been in the past few games.”
It’s tough to win after the rough start the Knights endured, only sinking 3 of their 22 first half field goals and appearing completely outclassed by the Bearcats’ heavy physical presence on defense and pinpoint accuracy from the field.
“There’s a reason they’re a top ten team, the way they defend, the way they execute,” said Coach Jones.
By intermission UCF trailed 18-40 – mostly on the efforts of Isiah Sykes, who ended the game with a double-double; 13 points and 10 rebounds. His prowess in comparison to the other UCF shooters does come at a price, considering the forward turned the ball over seven times, more than twice that any of his teammates.
The Knights did come into the second half with a little more fire in their eyes, improving their shooting percentage from 17.4% to 38.7% and knocking down 3 more shots.
Speaking on attempting such an epic comeback, Jones simplified things saying “you just try to shorten the game.”
Calvin Newell’s two halves were night and day in terms of production. Failing to sink any of his 4 first half field goal shots, Newell ended his day with 8 points, 6 coming off 3 point shots.
Cincinnati never took their foot off the pedal though, and buried the Knights under the weight of that first half deficit. Outscoring the Knights in every aspect, Cincinnati dominated in the paint and from turnovers. 34 came within the paint, and 21 were from turnovers.
UCF will travel to Houston this weekend to play the 4-8 University of Houston Cougars for the first time this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 pm.
