ORLANDO, Fla. – Oh, how the UCF Knights have missed B.J. Taylor.
In just his fourth game back from a fractured foot, the redshirt junior has provided a much-needed offensive boost for a Knights team that ranks among the nation’s worst in points per game.
Taylor’s contribution was most recently recognized in his second 20-point performance of the season, as he led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting to help UCF (14-7, 5-4 in American Athletic Conference) to a 70-61 win over the UConn Huskies at CFE Arena Wednesday night.
It was just the second time ever that UCF has beaten the Huskies, as UConn now holds an 11-2 all-time advantage. UCF last beat UConn 68-63 on Nov. 25, 2011, in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
For Taylor, beating UConn was just another win.
“Before the game, we talked about bouncing back after the [81-62 loss to Wichita State University] up there, and we just happy to be able to get a win tonight against, you know, a solid team,” Taylor said after the win.
UConn’s Christian Vital, who finished with 9 points in 33 minutes, made back-to-back free throws to tie the game at 50-50 with 6:25 to play, but the Huskies (11-11, 4-5 in AAC) never regained a lead they once took with the first basket of the game.
Taylor responded by earning free throws on back-to-back possessions, going 2-for-4 to start a game-sealing run. Redshirt junior Dayon Griffin followed Taylor with a 3 for a five-point, 55-50 lead.
Huskies guard Terry Larrier drained a jumper, and UConn forward Josh Carlton scored on a layup to keep UCF within reach, but back-to-back floaters by Taylor forced UConn to intentionally foul the rest of the way.
Despite shooting 61.8 percent (21-for-34) at the free-throw line against UConn, the Knights made their free throws when they most needed them. In the final 1:36, UCF went 11-for-14 at the line, eventually claiming their largest lead, 10 points, behind a Ceasar DeJesus free throw.
“I’m challenging them all the time,” Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. “You know, we’re doing a number of different things with them at the free-throw line as far as how we approach our practices, and I think it’s all going to end up working out.
“They’re gonna have a night where it starts to click. I’ve seen it happen before because they all are good-enough shooters where we can be more consistent from the line, and, when that happens, we make another big jump.”
Both teams started slowly, as neither the Knights nor the Huskies drew first blood until Larrier hit a 3 at the 16:27 mark of the first half. UCF responded with an A.J. Davis free throw and a Griffin layup to hold the score at 3-3 until the 13:39 mark.
DeJesus broke the tie with an inside-the-paint look. The Knights, then, increased their lead to as high as nine points in the first half, as Griffin drained a 3 for a 16-7 advantage with just over eight minutes to play.
UConn eventually tied the game at 29-29 with 32 seconds to play, but back-to-back tip-in attempts by 6-foot-2 guard Terrell Allen eventually resulted in a two-point Knights lead entering the break.
The Knights ended the first half shooting 44.4 percent (12-for-27), as UConn shot 36 percent (9-for-25).
“They jumped out on us last [time], you know, up in UConn, and I thought tonight was more of a slugfest early on. I thought both teams were just really digging in defensively, digging in defensively,” Dawkins said. “I thought we had some good looks that we didn’t knock down, but it’s early… But that’s part of the game.
“The main thing is we had to keep our defense as our constant, and we did that. And then we started making shots, everything kinda fell in place.”
Jalen Adams, Larrier and Vital all had their way with UCF the last time both teams met in Connecticut, as they combined for 44 points on 14-for-31 shooting in a 62-53 Huskies win.
All three were limited in the rematch in Orlando, combining for 35 points on 12-for-34 shooting. Larrier led all UConn scorers with 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-6 from deep.
“We just had a better game plan this time. Last time out, we seen what killed us last time,” Griffin said after the win. “We knew Adams was a good player when he creates for the team, so we just tried to take him out the game and make other players step up and make some shots.”
Who’s Next?
The Knights conclude a two-game home stand with the Houston Cougars on Saturday at noon. Houston is third in the American at 16-5 overall, 6-3 in AAC play.
For more on the Knights, as they look to finish this week 2-0, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
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