The Knights, on the cusp of ending their seven game losing streak, fought so hard against a tough Memphis team. Then, Tigers’ guard Antonio Barton shattered UCF’s heart.
Marcus Jordan drove to the hole with 40 seconds left to give the Knights (14-8, 1-8 C-USA) a 62-60 lead and all UCF needed was a stop to win its first game in over a month. But, Barton hit a game-winning three point shot from the corner with 2.8 seconds left to give Memphis (18-6, 6-3 C-USA) a 63-62 victory Wednesday night at the UCF Arena.
It was another heartbreaking loss for the Knights, who lost their eighth straight contest after starting the season off 14-0.
“It was probably one of the toughest loses considering we’re on a losing streak. We were hoping with the way we were playing that we were going to win. We played hard the whole game. But all the credit goes to them,” Issac Sosa said. “They had some great plays at the end. They forced some turnovers and it just worked for them at the end.”
After ending the first half on a 7-0 run, the Knights came into the second half full of energy and turned the momentum in their favor.
They drove to the basket and caused fouls and maintained a small lead throughout most of the final half. However, the Tigers continued to stick around with timely shots and used their advantage in length and height to overcome UCF’s second half rally.
Will Barton led four Memphis players in double figures with 15 points, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. But, it was the other Barton, Antonio, who came up with the game’s biggest shot. He finished with 14 points on four-of-seven shooting from the three-point line.
“We kept our composure and we came down and scored and went up two. We put ourselves in a situation to win the game and forced them to make a play and they did,” Head Coach Donnie Jones said.
“But, I’m proud of our team even though we didn’t win. This team has continued to fight and we’re getting better. Losing is not what we want to do, but this group of kids has continued to work.”
Tarik Black added 11 points and five blocks for the Tigers, while Will Coleman had 10 points and five boards.
UCF shot a solid 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc, but only shot 39.3 percent from the field in the game.
Issac Sosa led the Knights with 14 points, including four-of-five shooting from beyond the arc. Marcus Jordan contributed with 12 points and five assists, and Keith Clanton chipped in nine points and seven boards.
While the game came down to the final shot, UCF struggled against Memphis zone defense, which forced 13 turnovers. The Tigers also held the edge in rebounds 36-32.
Despite Memphis’ advantage in size, the Knights held their own in the second half, by utilizing a zone defense and knocking down their long shots.
Ultimately, Barton’s shot erased the Knights strong play and left the UCF home crowd with a sour taste. It was their fourth straight loss at the UCF Arena.
The Knights will look to end their losing streak when they face off against Tulsa Saturday night in Orlando.
“We’ll regroup and learn from this and get ready for Tulsa,” Coach Jones said.
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