Knights pull away to win opener
Before the 2017-18 season even started, the UCF men’s basketball team coped with bad news. Redshirt junior guard Aubrey Dawkins was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury and junior center Tacko Fall was not available for the team’s first game due to a sore hip.
But that didn’t stop the Knights from opening the season on a high note, with UCF taking down Mercer 88-79 Friday night at CFE Arena in front of an announced crowd of 6,167.
“It was a great first game,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We knew ... that they weren’t gonna give us the game, that we had to come out and really play and we learned a lot about our players because of that.”
Despite a close first half, the Knights were able to use an improved defensive effort to pull away in the second half. Redshirt senior forward A.J. Davis led the way with eight points to go along with 15 rebounds and three blocks.
“If we were playing chess, I think he would be my queen on the chessboard,” Dawkins said. “He’s that player that can kind of go all over the place and do a lot of everything.”
The Knights got off to a hot start offensively, but UCF struggled on defense and left Mercer open for multiple 3-point opportunities. Almost 10 minutes into the half, despite shooting an impressive 88 percent, the Knights were down by four due to a 3-point barrage by the Bears.
“Defensively, in the first half, we played with some jitters,” Dawkins said. “I didn’t think we played as well as I know we’re capable of.”
UCF improved significantly on defense in the second half. On one play, a Mercer player went up for a dunk directly beneath the rim but was blocked by Davis. He collected his own rebound and immediately tried to go up to score but was blocked once again by junior forward Chad Brown.
“We’re a defensive team and that’s what we take pride in,” Davis said. “We just locked back into our principles and our strategies and focused more on the defensive end.”
Brown went on to block two more shots during the next few possessions, helping to ignite a 12-0 run by the Knights, who were finally able to pull away for their first big lead of the night. That run gave UCF a 12-point lead with 12 minutes to go in the game.
The Bears battled back to make it a single-digit game, but there wasn’t enough time left to mount a comeback and UCF went on earn the win.
UCF will take on Gardner-Webb at home on Wednesday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed at ESPN3.com.
The UCF women’s basketball team’S fourth quarter rally fell short and Knights lost 73-64 to Mercer Friday.
“We came out with a slow start,” UCF coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. “The fourth quarter is how we should start the game. (Mercer) came out ready to go.”
Senior Fifi Ndour recorded her sixth career double-double, racking up a career-high 24 points on 10-for-11 shooting and 12 rebounds.