(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)

Game Recap

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF Knights have developed a winning mentality early in their conference schedule. After splitting its first two American Athletic Conference games on the road, UCF (11-4, 2-1 in AAC) started a two-game home stand with a 65-56 victory over the Memphis Tigers (9-6, 0-2 in AAC) Wednesday night at CFE Arena.

FIRST HALF

The first half was a battle of defense, as both the Knights and Tigers shot 28 percent (7-for-25) and 32 percent (7-for-22), respectively. For the Knights, they relied on point guard Terrell Allen and Tacko Fall. Each finished the half with six points apiece, each shooting 3-for-5 from the field.

“Sometimes we just come out slow. We just came out kinda slow on offense. It wasn’t really flowing for us good,” forward A.J. Davis said after the game. “But I think once we settled in and just started taking good shots, making each other better on offense—we got each other a lot of good shots the second half. The first half, it was just, like, too stagnant.”

UCF started the game with an early 13-8 lead by the 10-minute mark of the first half but then had its offense stall. Until Davis hit two free throws at the 7:20 mark, UCF failed to score on five-consecutive possessions. Allen, first, missed a rushed 3-pointer; that was followed by back-to-back missed free throws and a turnover by freshman Myles Douglas. Ceasar DeJesus, the reigning AAC rookie of the week, missed a layup, and Allen turned it over to conclude the drought.

In the meantime, Memphis went on a 8-0 run to take the lead. The Tigers used a variety of shots to get their first lead of the game. Memphis’ biggest play was a converted and-1 3 by Kyvon Davenport; his free throw gave Memphis a narrow, 14-13 advantage.

Despite the middle-of-the-half scoreless run, the Knights never let the score get away from them. Memphis never led by more than three points and only held a one-point lead by halftime. That was partly due to the efforts of Mumin and forward Chad Brown.

Allen found Mumin for his first points of the game and the Knights’ first 3 of the game; UCF was 0-for-10 until Mumin scored. With less than 10 seconds to go, Memphis sprinted the length of the court, eventually working the ball to Karim Sameh Azab baseline jumper that was blocked by Brown.

“I thought we ended the first half well,” Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the win. “I thought the plays the guys made down the stretch, Chad and both Djordjije hitting that late 3, were big going into halftime.”

HALFTIME: Memphis 22, UCF 21

SECOND HALF

Both teams opened the second half firing from deep, as both teams combined for seven made 3s in the first eight minutes. Davis hit the first one in the first 14 seconds, as Dayon Griffin followed that with two more in that stretch. That offensive outpouring epitomized the final period, as both teams shot significantly better than their respective first-half selves; UCF shot 61.9 percent, and Memphis shot 44.8 percent.

The Knights broke away from Memphis after Griffin’s second 3 was followed by one from DeJesus. That was the start of a 20-11 run that gave UCF a 10-point lead with 1:45 to play. Fall, who was less offensively effective in the second half, was frequently met by double- and triple-team defenses by Memphis, but he scored four points in in the final three minutes to help UCF claim the late, double-digit lead.

With Fall mostly nullified, the Knights opted for a more perimeter-oriented game. After shooting 9.1 percent from 3-point range in the first half, UCF shot 5-for-7 in the second. The Knights combined that with 8-for-18 shooting from inside the arc.

Though he recorded no shot attempts and had just one point and eight rebounds, Dawkins credited Brown for helping UCF stay in the game. He was a defensive stalwart, recording a steal and 2 blocks.

“We had Chad in there because Tacko had gotten in foul trouble,” Dawkins said. “And I thought Chad gave us a big lift in this game. I mean, I think if any player kinda changed the way game was going—I thought Chad’s energy, his effort—he made a lot of plays on the backboard and got us opportunities to get out and run.”

FINAL: UCF 65, Memphis 56

NDR Player of the Game: F A.J. Davis

Davis finished the Knights’ second AAC win of the 2017-18 season with the only double-double of the game, posting game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (11). He earned most of his points from the free-throw line, shooting just 2-for-3 from the field (1-for-1 from 3) and 11-for-16 from the charity stripe. He pulled in 3 offensive rebounds and added 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.

“I would just say that I’ve been in a lot of different experiences, a lot of different games,” Davis said. “You know, when I was young, when I was a freshman, those moments felt so fast. Like, I felt so much pressure. Like, now, it’s so slow. I already know what I’m doing; I already know what I’m looking for. You know, I’m older now. You know, I would just say that I’ve really learned from my experiences.”

Who’s Next?

The Knights conclude a two-game home stand when they take on Temple University on Sunday at noon.

Chance McSpadden Out with High-ankle Sprain

Dawkins and the Knights will be without their primary perimeter defender in guard Chance McSpadden. The redshirt sophomore suffered a high-ankle sprain in a 59-39 win over the ECU Pirates on Dec. 31, according to Dawkins. In addition to notoriously being the team’s most energetic defender, McSpadden has also contributed on the offensive end. So far this season, McSpadden has averaged 5.8 points per game, including a season-high, 18-point performance in a win over the College of William & Mary in the third game of the year.

“You know, Chance is a just a little bit different because his energy and how he picks it up,” Davis said. “Chance can pick up the ball full court, and, you know, we just let him play. You know, all of us don’t do that. That’s a lot of energy. You know, he works on that, and he’s good at that.”

Dawkins doesn’t have a specific timetable for McSpadden’s return but expects the Winter Haven native to return this season.

Grant Hill Visits UCF, Johnny Dawkins

The Knights welcomed another Duke University alumnus to CFE Arena when former Blue Devil and former NBA All-Star Grant Hill attended UCF’s win over Memphis. Like Dawkins, Hill played at Duke before playing in the National Basketball Association. Hill was an 18-year veteran and made seven All-Star appearances, averaging 16.7 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game.

“It was fun seeing Grant. You know, I’ve known Grant almost all his life, probably, so it’s been fun to see him around, and, of course, he’s one of our biggest supporters,” Dawkins said. “It was great to have him say a few words to our team at the end of the game–not just about basketball but about life–and I thought that was good for our young men to hear. Because he’s such a great role model, not just because of what he’s done on the court but as much for what he’s done off the court.”

Said Ceasar DeJesus on Hill’s attendance: “He just told us to, like, keep working hard and just keep listening to our coaches ’cause we have a great coaching staff, especially Johnny Dawkins. Everybody knows his résumé. He’s just a legend, so, like, just listening to him and having him as a coach is an advantage.”

NDR Notes

• UCF has won three-straight games against Memphis, the first time in school history. The Knights trail the Tigers 21-4 in the overall series and have never won in Memphis.
• Davis recorded his fifth double-double of the season, his second-straight, going for 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Griffin scored 13 points in the win over Memphis, averaging 10.4 points per game over the last five games.
• The Knights are over .500 in conference play for the first time this season after splitting results in their first two AAC games this season.
• With the win over Memphis, UCF started its third winning streak of the season.

Scoring

Statistics and Starting Lineups

Team Leaders

Team Statistics

Shooting Percentages

UCF Knights starting lineup: Terrell Allen (G), Ceasar DeJesus (G), Djordjije Mumin (G), A.J. Davis (F), Tacko Fall (C)

Memphis Tigers starting lineup: Jamal Johnson (G), Jeremiah Martin (G), Kyvon Davenport (F), Raynere Thornton (F), Mike Parks Jr. (F)

For more on the Knights, as they conclude a two-game home stand on Sunday against Temple, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.