UCF shakes off early deficit to plow Rider on opening night

ORLANDO, FLA. >> A challenging non-conference road test on opening night overwhelmed the Rider men’s basketball team.

The Broncs dropped their season opener Tuesday at CFE Arena to Central Florida, which led by as many as 24 in a 84-70 victory.

UCF guard B.J. Taylor led four Knights in double figures with 22 points. Aubrey Dawkins added 16 points and Collin Smith finished with a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Dimencio Vaughn scored 14 points for Rider, which shot merely 39.1 percent from the field and 37.5 percent on 24 free-throw attempts. The Broncs also turned the ball over 17 times.

Rider actually led for the game’s first 17 points, but after trailing 3430 with 2:53 left in the first half, UCF went on a 13-0 run to take a 43-34 lead into halftime.

Taylor scored seven of the Knights’ points during that stretch, including a 3-pointer from the wing with 25 seconds remaining.

Taylor buried another triple 17 seconds into the second half as UCF led by double digits for nearly the duration of the final 20 minutes. Ceasar Dejesus’ layup with 11:02 left extended the Knights’ lead to 65-41.

Rider’s Stevie Jordan made a jumper with 4:31 left to pull the Broncs within 74-63, but UCF repelled the rally with a free throw and a dunk over the ensuing 80 seconds.

Rider’s next game will be its home opener back in Lawrenceville on Nov. 19 against Coppin State.

UCF, which plays in the American Athletic Conference, received votes in the preseason top-25 national rankings polls.