Knights brush off talk of moral victory

The UCF Knights don’t believe in moral victories.

They took a Cincinnati team ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll down to the wire, losing by five on the road Thursday.

They limited the Bearcats’ leading scorer to 3-for-13 shooting from the field, held their own on the glass and shot 56 percent in the second half against one of the country’s best defenses.

But what only matters is the end result, one that snapped UCF’s three-game win streak and left the Knights at 19-6 overall and 9-4 in the American Athletic Conference.

Coach Johnny Dawkins said Saturday that it’s “always hard” for him to talk about positives in the wake of a loss.

Senior guard B.J. Taylor was firm when asked if there were any moral victories to extract from the loss: “Nah. Just moving forward.”

Moving forward means preparing for Sunday’s noon tip at home versus the SMU Mustangs (13-12 overall, 5-8 in the AAC). The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

It also means avoiding an emotional letdown and not overlooking a middling opponent.

“We know that if we want to do anything special, we’ve got to stay focused,” Dawkins said. “Every game counts the same.”

Pony up: UCF beat the Mustangs 71-65 in Dallas two weeks ago. Although SMU has played only two games since, going 1-1, the Knights will see a different team in a couple of ways this time around.

The unlimited presence of star guard Jahmal McMurray will be the most significant change. He played just five minutes against UCF earlier this season and missed each of his three shots. According to SMU coach Tim Jankovich, McMurray was limited, in part, due to a minor injury. But he also was serving punishment for being late to SMU’s final practice before the game.

During the Mustangs’ subsequent two games, McMurray recorded 22 and 25 points. The senior is the AAC’s fifth-leading scorer at 18.0 points per game and has made the second-most

3-pointers of any player in the conference.

Dawkins said facing McMurray at 100 percent makes SMU “hugely different” from what the Mustangs put on the floor Feb.

10.

“When you have a guard like that, he’s a differencemaker,” Dawkins added. “This is a league with terrific guards, and he’s one of those guys. That says a lot about his ability.”

Secondly, the Mustangs have played a lot more zone defense in their past two games despite traditionally being a man-to-man team. Their opponents have shot just 36.5 percent from the field since that meeting with UCF, which includes an 18-point victory over UConn on Thursday.

Final countdown: Taylor has tried to soak in every “last” experience. And soon, Taylor — a four-year starter and team captain — will be playing in his last home game as a Knight. He has been counting them down, and he knows there isn’t much left to count.

“We’re at two,” Taylor said regarding the number of games he has remaining inside CFE Arena. “You’ve got tomorrow and then after tomorrow, the count will be real short.”

Taylor said Saturday the reality for the seniors that this will be their final goaround at UCF has fueled them to be at their best all year long.

“For us, it’s just going out there playing and doing what we’ve been doing all season.”