The UCF Knights (17-9, C-USA 7-5) officially fell into a losing streak as they dropped their third straight, this time to a Marshall Thundering Herd (12-15, C-USA 5-7) team who found their first road win of the season in Orlando, the town where dreams come true.
Isaiah Sykes had his fifth double-double, 23 points and 11 rebounds, but fouled out with two minutes left, down 12, leaving the game in the hands of freshman point guards Daiquan Walker and Calvin Newell Jr.
Newell put up 16 points in another solid performance, averaging about 12 PPG in his freshman season.
Marshall played far better than their dismal 10th (out of 12 teams) ranking in C-USA portrays. To the tune of constant “Pittman Sucks” chants from the student section, Marshall’s Elijah Pittman led the Herd with 20 points. While Marshall ranks dead last in the nation in 3’s, they managed to shoot 37.5% (6-16) from behind the arc, out ranging UCF’s 18.8% (3-16).
The Knights could not get the offense rolling in the first half, shooting just under 42% from the field.
Meanwhile, Marshall built a 14 point lead going into half, shooting 60% and leaving the Knights a deep hole to try and climb out of.
Pittman’s three to start the second half for Marshall immediately deflated UCF’s fresh start, new half energy. Marshall continued to build their lead, putting UCF in a 22-point hole with 9 minutes left to play.
Suddenly, with six minutes left to play, a 10-point run brought the Knights within 12 and the Dungeon started to feel it. The ‘feeling’ wouldn’t last long, however, as the offense stalled out and the Knights could not close the gap.
At the end of the night, it was all she wrote as the Knights continued to struggle against Donnie Jones’s ex-team, year in and year out.
The Knights have five games left and need three more wins to hit the 20 win season mark for the third season straight. If the Knights make that three year, 20-win streak happen, it will only be the second time in the history of the program that the Knights have accomplished the feat.
Their next chance to earn another W is Saturday, the 23rd against Tulsa, at home in the Dungeon.
