Knights end losing streak with romp over Bethune-Cookman

6 of 8 3-point attempts connected in first half to hand Wildcats their fourth-straight loss

Darin Green Jr. scored 18 points, making four 3-pointers, as host UCF routed Bethune-Cookman 81-45 on Sunday in men’s basketball.

Tyem Freeman had 12 points for UCF (5-2). Brandon Mahan added 11 points. C.J. Walker had 10 points as the Knights halted a 2-game losing streak.

Joe French had 12 points for the Wildcats (1-7), whose losing streak stretched to four games. Marcus Garrett added 11 points.

Coach Johnny Dawkins’ Knights built a 27-point halftime lead, thanks mostly to 65.4% marksmanship in the opening 20 minutes, including a half-dozen 3-point goals (on just 8 attempts). UCF led by 20 less than 15 minutes into the game and never really was threatened.

Bethune-Cookman shot just 33.3% in the first half and contributed to its own struggles with 13 turnovers.

“I thought it was a great game,” said Dawkins. “Our guys had a certain focus about them today.

“We needed to bounce back, and

I really like the way we bounced back. The assist number [21] was terrific.”

The victory came after the Knights endured successive defeats against Oklahoma and Auburn.

“We just came out with more intensity today,” added Walker.

UCF outrebounded Bethune-Cookman 36-28, paced by 9 from Cheikh Mbacke Diong.

Tied at 7-7, the Knights scored 9 straight points as Bethune-Cookman missed 8 of 9 shots. A 13-0 run pushed the lead to 36-16, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Darius Perry.

Green’s 3-pointer capped a 16-2 run over a 2-minute span after back-to-back alley-oop dunks by Walker and Freeman excited the crowd early.

UCF returns to action Saturday at home at 2 p.m. against North Carolina A&T.

UCF built its second-half lead to 58-29 despite missing 8 shots in a row at the same time Bethune-Cookman started the half by missing 10 of its first 14.

The visitors missed their first 6 free throws and finished 3 of 10 from the line.