ORLANDO, Fla. – Tacko Fall and Justin McBride combined for 24 points as UCF grabbed the season sweep over East Carolina 89-69 on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of good efforts for guys tonight, I thought we played very unselfish and I thought we played together as a group,” head coach Donnie Jones said. “And I really love the way these guys were cheering for each other. I think those are the things that as a basketball coach you are looking for in your team as we continue to move through the schedule.”
The Knights seemed to have the Pirates figured out the second time around, shooting 54.2 percent on Saturday after just barely etching out a 71-68 victory on January 2. UCF’s size gave them a huge edge over ECU as they got out to a 60-32 halftime lead and they never looked back. The offensive prowess of the Knights led to their third game of the season with five players in double-digit scoring.
“It was fun, that’s the only word I can use to describe it,” McBride said. “You know you are hitting shots, you are passing the ball and everybody is just cheering for each other. That’s the way it is supposed to be and that’s why we play this game.”
Justin McBride followed up his stellar performance against SMU with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Tacko Fall pitched in 12 points and 5 rebounds of his own. McBride seems to be coming into his own as a leader for the Knights off of the bench and his presence in the paint provides the team with a perfect complement to the 7-foot-6 Fall.
The ‘shared purpose’ philosophy that Jones has been preaching was in full effect on Saturday and proved that the Knights could be a force within the American Athletic Conference as they continue to improve on both ends of the court. The win over East Carolina brings the Knights to 3-1 in conference play, with their only loss coming to the undefeated SMU Mustangs.
“I think if we can all get to a level where we are playing are hardest all of the time and competing, then everybody starts to make those plays,” redshirt sophomore forward AJ Davis said. “You see more guys diving on the floor and you see more guys make that extra pass.”
UCF’s next contest will take the team to Tampa to take on the rival USF Bulls for the second time in two weeks. The Knights took the first contest at home against the Bulls 75-64 as Adonys Henriquez went off for 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
