On Tuesday night, UCF took on West Virginia in a match-up that left the Mountaineers trudging up a trail of defeat. The Knights gave West Virginia little room for success as they started out with an 8 point lead that quickly turned into a whopping 21 points. Defense never went by the wayside for the Knights as they prevented the Mountaineers offense from ever catching a rhythm. Frustration emanated off traveling West Virginia fans and the team. Eventually, tensions reached a high when RaeQuan Battle, the Mountaineer’s leading scorer, was ejected on account of two technical fouls. The UCF kingdom watched on with pride as player of the game, Jaylin Sellers, successfully sunk all four of his free throws following the foul call. In all, Sellers scored a game-high 18 points.
Players Ibrahima Diallo and Antwann Jones also earned their stripes in the game, putting up 14 and 13 points respectively. A crowd favorite, however, was C.J. Walker after teammate Shemarri Allen tossed him the ball for a crowd-riling dunk. In the end, the Knights were victorious, resulting in a score of 72-59. The two teams face each other again in February in Morgantown where the Mountaineers will surely have a taste for vengeance.
This victory in battle was not the only reason to celebrate in the Addition Arena last night as student-athletes from UCF sports across the board were honored for their academic achievements. UCF was proud to present that its student-athletes have achieved at or above a 3.00 GPA for 32 consecutive semesters. Additionally, the UCF dance and cheer teams were recognized for their outstanding performances at Nationals where the UCF dance team placed 5th and the UCF cheer team became four time D-IA National Champions! The banner celebrating this incredible achievement was unveiled to Knight Nation during the game. It is easy to see, the Knights of today are reaching for the stars of tomorrow with all of their amazing accomplishments!
