ORLANDO, Fla. — Short their lead scorer, the UCF men’s basketball team lost its grip on Temple early in the first half, missing several opportunities to recover on their way to a disheartening 86-62 loss.
Both teams managed the opening minutes with a few plays but Temple would soon take the lead and widen the gap on a few fast breaks and well-placed layups.
In place of an injured BJ Taylor came Daiquan Walker with 14 points for the night including UCF’s first points on the board. Alongside Walker and with 17 points tallied, Brandon Goodwin finished the night contributing the most to his team’s score. Goodwin and Walker would account for more than half of UCF’s points but their effort could not outmatch the offense put out by the Owls.
UCF went 21-50 from the field and 8-24 beyond the arc by the game’s end, versus Temple’s 33-65 from the field and 10-18 beyond the arc. Halftime saw the score at 37-18 in favor of Temple, with the Owl’s largest lead arriving later in the second half at 36 points with 9:03 left on the clock. The 36 point deficit did not go unanswered as UCF picked up its performance and cut down the lead to 24 points, finalizing the score at 86-62.
Taylor, out with a concussion from Sunday’s match, is expected to return to practice Thursday and Friday, with hopes to play Saturday’s away game. Wednesday night’s offense had to adjust with the loss of the starter, creating an added stress to the game.
“We’re going to get some rest [tonight] and come back mentally more than physically tomorrow, we’ll learn from this and get ready for SMU,” head coach Donnie Jones said after the game. “I know these guys are bothered, and hurt by it, but we’ll have to regroup from it and find our rhythm.”
The Knights have been plagued by a losing streak going back the previous four games, while having dropped 7 out of the last 9 played. UCF will hope to break this streak when they take on SMU on Saturday at 8 p.m. Senior Myles Davis adds that an away game might allow the players to pick up speed before the season, his last, comes to a close.
“We’re going to get it right, but it’s going to be a process,” said Miles. “It starts with us being teammates and being there for each other… If we go out there on the road I see ourselves coming together a little bit more. It’s going to be a real team change, it has to be.”
Fans can follow the match at SMU on ESPNU.
