ORLANDO, Fla – These are dark days indeed for the Golden Knights, joining Temple at the bottom of the standings after a crushing defeat at home to the UCONN Huskies, 75-55. It is the eighth consecutive loss for UCF, who has yet to wion a conference game after coming away victorious in their inaguaral AAC game.
In no way did these Knights appear to be as evenly matched as the last time they saw the court, a close overtime loss to top rival USF. The Huskies outplayed UCF all over the court, commanding possession throughout the majority of the game. They took better advantage of their opportunities, sinking 47.6% of their shots in stark comparison to the 39.2% produced by UCF shooters.
Coach Jones had nothing but respect for UCONN after the game, admitting that “they’re a pretty good team.”
“They come in and that’s a good basketball team right now, a top 25 team, and they’ve been at this level for a while,” said Jones.
Coming into the game UCF held the statistical advantage when it came to snagging rebounds, averaging 39.2 per game – even after being outrebounded by USF in their last game 41-32. The Knights managed only 31 tonight, not enough to match UCONN’s 42.
What had been a strength is quickly becoming a major issue, as the Huskies’ domination of recording boards put UCF in a constant struggle to keep pace. From the onset of play, the Huskies never let UCF outrebound them, always staying up in the scorer’s column.
Isiah Sykes continues to stand out amongst his peers in this dismal season, leading the team in points (15), and assists (5).
Freshman Justin McBride had the biggest game of his young career, helping UCF work their way into striking range late in the second half. The hulking center (He’s listed at 6 feet 10 inches, 310 lbs) had yet to even attempt a shot in the 2014 season, and was able to amass 13 second half points to being life back to the crowd at CFE Arena.
It was his first real action since returning from an ACL tear prior to the season, an injury that is by no means is easy to recover from, especially in the constant change of acceleration and momentum required to play at a successful level. Even practice has been a torment, but McBride credits his teammates with a major influence on his training.
“It’s just hard work,” he said. “Hard work and perseverance. If it wasn’t for my teammates, I would have given up a long time ago. They literally pushed me. They wouldn’t let me give up. If it wasn’t for my teammates, I wouldn’t be half the player I am now.”
His presence under the net was a huge missing piece for UCF, as he was able to stem the flow by taking away shooting lanes, putting up a block and contributing 3 rebounds. The big man’s play got the crowd heartily back into the game, energizing the whole building at times.
“I think he can bring that on a night in and night out basis, because of his size and skill level,” Kasey Wilson said.
Unfortunately the effort came on a night where the Knights had more needs than even the impressive effort by McBride and Sykes could satisfy.
“For him to come in when we needed a spark and give that to us is huge,” said Wilson. “Now it’s (necessary) to put that together when you’re not down 10 or 12, but to put us over the hump – when we’re down by 2 or 3 or even up 2 or 3.”
The road will get no easier for the Knights, especially not in this conference. After facing ranked opponents all year and falling in their brief reprieve against USF, the Knights will travel on to face Memphis on February 12. The Tigers are 7-3 within the conference and are riding a two game win streak.
McBride gave hope to the future, stating with utter finality that “It’s not in any of us to quit, ever.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 pm EST.
