15 feet of centers from Senegal meet in titanic matchup
Tacko Fall had not played against anybody as tall as he is.
“Now I can see how people feel when they play against me,” the University of Central Florida’s 7-foot-6 center said after going against 7-6 Mamadou Ndiaye of UC Irvine on Wednesday night in Orlando.
The game, billed as the tallest matchup in college basketball history, went to Ndiaye and the Anteaters 61-60 in overtime.
Fall had a game-tying dunk with 26 seconds left, but Ndiaye scored all three of UC Irvine’s overtime points — including a goahead free throw with 1:49 to play.
Ndiaye, a junior bothered by foul trouble much of the night, finished with five points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.
Fall, a freshman who recently was cleared to play by the NCAA, had six points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
“I thought that matchup was exciting,” said head coach Donnie Jones of UCF (0-2). “It was Tacko’s second game, and not having practiced a lot, to be put in that atmosphere against a more experienced Mamadou ... this will give him some confidence.”
The Anteaters (3-0) didn’t waste any time trying to use their more experienced big man to their advantage, throwing the ball inside to Ndiaye on their first possession and drawing a foul on Fall. However, Fall came back to block two of Ndiaye’s shots.
“I just did my job,” Fall said. “I had to play good defense on him and make a statement once the game started. That’s what I did.”
Earlier in the day, Fall and Ndiaye, both from Senegal, met for a photo shoot and had a chance to talk.
“He gave me free advice,” Fall said. “He told me to work hard and keep playing and it’s going to come along.”