Just a few hours after the UCF football team celebrated their second Conference-USA championship in the last four years, the UCF basketball team kept their record unblemished with a 74-49 blowout win at the UCF Arena over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions and kept the success at UCF going. It’s not a bad time to be a Knight.
Following a big upset over the #16 ranked Florida Gators, the Knights (7-0) didn’t allow the hype to get to them as they beat the Lions (4-2) in easy fashion to start the season off with seven consecutive victories. The 7-0 start marks just the third time in program history that the Knights have accomplished that feat and the first time since the school joined the Division I ranks.
“The defense was the whole key. You worry about the meltdown after an emotional victory in beating a team like Florida. I’m really proud of these guys because our last two practices, I thought they were very focused. We talked about the key to our success so far has been effort, our energy, and our preparation. I think guys are really locked into what we have been talking about,” head coach Donnie Jones said.
It was obvious from the start that the game would go in UCF’s favor with the Knights maintaining control throughout the contest. While it was still a close game in the first 10 minutes of the opening half, the Knights began to pull away with around five minutes remaining. They went on an 8-0 run that pushed the lead into double digits and they closed the half with a 38-24 advantage.
The Knights used their size and defense to help them pull away. In the first half, UCF outrebounded Southeastern Louisiana 23-16 and limited them to 32.3 percent shooting from the field (10-for-31), including 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Lions, who came into the game averaging 56.2 percent shooting from the field (4th best in the nation), were held to 29.5 percent in the game. They also came in averaging 86.2 points per game, which ranks eighth in the nation, yet the Knights limited the Lions to a season low 49 points.
“Much of the credit goes to our defense. We’re a team that really focuses on defense and taking away the three point shot from the other team. We stay aggressive the whole game. It’s a different style that teams haven’t really seen so much,” Issac Sosa said. “We try to take away their energy and that’s what we’ve been doing so far.”
Sophomore Keith Clanton, who has shown great signs of improvement this season, dominated throughout the game. In the first half alone, he muscled his way to eight rebounds and blocked four shots. He finished the game with his third double-double of the season, posting 16 points, 15 rebounds, and career high eight blocks. It was quite an eye-opening performance from Clanton.
Sosa poured in 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from the three-point line. Marcus Jordan also continued his strong start to the season, contributing 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, while captain A.J. Rompza posted 11 points, eight assists and four steals.
UCF smothered Southeastern Louisiana with their defense, forcing 16 turnovers and swatting 11 Lion shots. In what seems like an almost nightly occurrence, the Knights forced four Lion players to shoot air balls and the home crowd’s hostile reaction with the deafening “air ball” chants noticeably had an effect on their play. This time, Antonnio Benton, Gary Dixon, Brandon Fortenberry and David Ndoumba were the victims of the UCF faithful.
“I’ve noticed it a lot. I think the fans are just the biggest teasers. They always tease the opponents for the rest of the game and it gets in their heads. They just want to make shots so they end up taking tough shots,” Clanton said.
Trent Hutchin led the Lions with 18 points. He was the only Southeastern Louisiana player to score in double figures. Forward Jason Marks contributed seven points and nine boards.
UCF simply overwhelmed the Lions with their advantage in size and length. For the game, the Knights outrebounded their opponents 43-36. They also had another great shooting day, going 53.4 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. They came into the game tied for fourth in the nation in field goal percentage at 52 percent from the floor.
The Knights will have an entire week to prepare for their next game when they will look to preserve their perfect record in a home matchup against Bethune-Cookman next Saturday at 4 p.m.
