Knights’ powerful defense smothers Owls
Stingy defense continued to be UCF’s forte on Sunday afternoon, with the Knights holding Temple to its lowest offensive output of the season during a 60-39 victory at CFE Arena.
Entering the game, the Knights (12-4, 3-1 AAC) were holding opponents to 60.2 points per game, which ranked sixth nationally.
By allowing 39 points, they lowered that average to 58.9. The Owls (7-8, 0-4 AAC) shot just 32.1 percent from the field and turned the ball over 19 times.
“I thought our defense was as good as it’s been all year,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said.
“That was the difference in tonight’s ballgame. Our defense was locked in and made it difficult. [It] led to some easy baskets for us at times offensively.”
While defense has been the catalyst for UCF’s success this season, the offense hasn’t been as consistent. Sunday’s game got off to a slow start, with neither team reaching double figures until there was 4:07 left in the first half. The Owls went on a 10-0 run midway through the opening 20 minutes before the Knights rattled off 16 straight and 18 of the final 23 points in the half to take a 29-22 lead into the locker room.
Sunday’s offensive spark came from redshirt junior Dayon Griffin, who led all scorers with 15 points. He finished 6-of-9 from the field and added six rebounds, an assist and a block.
“I’m not letting the past games get to me, I’m just moving forward and focusing on what I can do in the future and not what I did in the past,” Griffin said. “Honestly, not thinking too much on the court is definitely helping me out.”
Redshirt freshman Ceasar DeJesus also gave the Knights an offensive lift, scoring 13 points while also picking up three steals.
“It’s fun for me to watch the growth that a young player goes through during the course of a season,” Dawkins said. From where he started the season to where he is now, it’s night and day on both sides of the basketball.”
The Knights continued to play complementary basketball in the second half. The defense held tight and provided scoring opportunities on the other end of the court. Temple got within 36-31 at the 13:54 mark of the half, but the Owls didn’t score again until the 3:40 mark.
During that span, UCF built its lead to 19 and coasted the rest of the way to a 21-point win.
UCF has now won eight of its past nine games and its last five at home. Sunday’s win also marked a third straight conference win and a third consecutive victory over Temple.
The Knights’ early-season success hasn’t come without adversity. The team is missing redshirt sophomore Aubrey Dawkins, redshirt junior B.J. Taylor and more recently, redshirt sophomore Chance McSpadden. While Dawkins is out for the season, Taylor and McSpadden are expected back and would add some scoring and depth to the Knights’ roster.
“We have to keep on getting better,” Dawkins said. “Our approach when those players come back is the same thing. It adds to our depth, our ability to compete and I think that will be helpful for us.”
UCF is back in action on Wednesday at UConn (8-7, 1-2 AAC) before returning home on Jan. 16 for a matchup with No. 19 Cincinnati. Tipoff for Wednesday’s road game is set for 7 p.m.