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Facing the No. 17 Wichita State Shockers was already going to be a difficult defensive assignment, but, without their best perimeter and best paint defenders, the UCF Knights faltered on the road.

The Knights (13-7, 4-4 in American Athletic Conference) fell 81-62 to the Shockers (16-4, 6-2 in AAC) Thursday night at Charles Koch Arena in front of 10,506 fans.

“We knew it was going to be a tough environment, but I thought our guys got out to a pretty good start,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the loss, per UCF. “We were real competitive early, and they just built their lead over time in the first half.”

UCF trailed Wichita State 36-20 with 2:37 to play in the first half, as the Knights shot a woeful 34.5 percent. But in B.J. Taylor’s third game back from injury, he provided a spark for UCF in the form of an 11-3 run to cut the Shockers’ lead to eight by halftime.

Knights guard Dayon Griffin, who scored a team-high 15 points, opened the run with two free throws. After Terrell Allen broke away for a fast-break, stop-and-pop jumper, Taylor went on a personal, 7-2 run.

The redshirt junior started with an and-1, converting the free throw. On the next possession, Griffin collected a defensive rebound and led Taylor to the right wing for a 3. Taylor finished his run going 1-for-2 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds.

“It was a good stretch for us,” Dawkins said. “We got stops and didn’t give up second-chance opportunities. We got out in transition, and we executed a few of our sets really well. That gave us a chance.”

UCF’s offense, however, was not sustainable, as the Knights barely increased their shooting percentage to 37.5 percent in the second half.

Wichita State saw its lead dwindle to seven off a Chad Brown layup less than two minutes into the final period, but the Shockers pulled away from there. Shockers senior Shaquille Morris, who scored a game-high 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting, powered his way to the basket on three consecutive possessions to start a 14-6 run, effectively putting the game out of reach for UCF.

The Knights never narrowed their deficit to single digits the rest of the game.

“They have size. They have some experienced bigs,” Dawkins said. “They’re strong, and they kept throwing bodies at us. That’s something we need to get better at.”

Griffin was instrumental in keeping the game close early on, as the Knights’ 342nd-ranked scoring offense faltered in the opening period. Of UCF’s 10 made field goals, five were 3s. Of those five 3s, two came from Griffin in the first eight minutes of play.

He hit his first 3, also his first field-goal attempt, with 14:48 to play in the first to bring the Knights within one point, 6-5. Griffin scored his second 3 almost four minutes later, finishing his personal run with a layup three possessions later to make Wichita State’s lead four, 17-13, with 10:14 to play in the first.

Who’s Next?

UCF returns home to CFE Arena to host the UConn Huskies on Wednesday at 9 p.m. The Knights 1-11 in the all-time series against the Huskies, most recently losing to them 62-53 on Jan. 10.

For more on the Knights, as they look to improve to an above-.500 record in conference play, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.