College Basketball
UCF Men’s Basketball: Knights Defeated Gardner-Webb Behind Bigs
Published
8 years agoon
By
FNN SPORTS
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Source: UCFKnights.com // Without All-Conference honorees Tacko Fall and B.J. Taylor, the UCF men’s basketball team fought through adversity to win 68-65 over visiting Gardner-Webb Wednesday night and improve to 2-0 on the season.
“That was a good game. You have to give Gardner-Webb all the credit for the way they played,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “I thought they were prepared. I thought they played hard. Our guys really stepped up. I think they made enough plays at the end to win and that’s what it’s all about. In the end we found a way to win tonight.”
Taylor, who went down in the second half of the season opener against Mercer, fractured a bone in his foot and it was announced earlier this week that he will likely miss four-to-six weeks of action. With the team leader in scoring and assists from a year ago now sideline, the Knights (2-0) had find a way to fill the void against the Bulldogs (0-3).
In comes Terrell Allen. The transfer from Drexel played 21 minutes as the backup point guard on Friday, but with Taylor out, Allen logged a team high 37 minutes on Wednesday. He stepped up as the team’s floor general, finishing with 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, dished out a team high three assists, and picked up three steals.
“I thought Terrell was very solid,” Dawkins said. “I thought he made some huge plays for us in the second half especially. He got into the paint, penetrated, and finished. I think he’s going to grow from this game and be better from this experience tonight.”
Allen also hit a pair of free throws late to help seal the victory. The Knights need the shots from the stripe by Allen and Chance McSpadden to withstand a late Gardner-Webb run.
The Knights had built a double-digit lead late in the second half when McSpadden hit two from the line to make it 58-48 with 7:07 to play. A.J. Davis then gave UCF its largest lead of the contest – at 12 – with a layin, but the Bulldogs did not give in.
Gardner-Webb took advantage of UCF miscues with a 13-3 run that got the Bulldogs back within one point with just 34 seconds left to play. That’s when Allen, McSpadden and collective ball handling by the Knights sealed the win.
Davis and Brown record double-doubles to lead the way
- A.J. Davis led UCF with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in the victory.
- It marked the seventh career double-double for the senior and the second straight game with double figures boards.
- Davis’s three blocks also tied a career high.
- Chad Brown, meanwhile, recorded his first career double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career high five blocks.
“(Chad’s) playing really well. He’s been coming in and giving us energy. He’s really been doing a great job protecting our rim, blocking shots, taking charges, and rebounding; all the things that’s required to be successful in that paint. He’s done a terrific job and I hope he continues.” – Johnny Dawkins
Griffin scores eight of his 12 points in second half surge
- Dayon Griffin scored in double figures for the second straight game to start his UCF career, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds on Wednesday.
- Griffin scored eight of his 12 points in the Knights’ 16-3 spurt that gave them a 58-48 lead midway through the second half.
The defense showed improvement, holding Bulldogs to 35.8 percent from the field
After giving up 79 points to Mercer in the first game of the season, the defensive performance on Wednesday night was an improvement. The Knights, who led the nation in field goal percentage a year ago, showed signs of that greatness against the Bulldogs, holding Gardner-Webb to 65 points and 35.8 percent shooting from the floor.
“I thought we defended fairly well in the first half to be quite frank, holding them to 28 points, that was a really good job. Overall they scored 65 points. I was a lot happier with that then the almost 80 points they scored the last game. I’m happy that we are starting to work in the right direction defensively getting back to UCF defense and that’s what we have to get to.” – Johnny Dawkins
The Knights will conclude their three-game homestand to start the year on Saturday. UCF hosts William & Mary at 2 p.m.
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Business
Addition Financial, UCF Extend Naming Rights Agreement for Arena
Published
4 years agoon
August 18, 2022By
FNN SPORTS
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – UCF has extended its naming rights partnership with Addition Financial Credit Union for an additional dozen years—in the process continuing to identify Addition Financial Arena on the UCF campus as the Knights’ home for men’s and women’s basketball games and a variety of other events.
The new agreement is a 12-year, $20 million partnership that follows up the original naming rights pact signed by UCF and Additional Financial in 2013. The new deal takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.
The UCF Board of Trustees approved the name at its meeting this morning, and the full deal is expected to be approved Aug. 25 by the UCF Athletics Association.
“We’ve had a partnership with Addition Financial for nearly a decade, and we’re excited that Kevin Miller and the Addition Financial Board have agreed to extend our relationship for an additional 12 years,” says UCF vice president and athletics director Terry Mohajir. “This is a great new venture with outstanding community partners.
“Resources will be paramount as we transition into the Big 12 Conference a year from now, and Addition Financial will play a key role for us as we invest more resources to enhance our education and athletics missions!”
In 2013, Addition Financial was named the Official Financial Institution of the UCF Knights and is the exclusive credit union for UCF Athletics. Since that time, Addition Financial has partnered with UCF Athletics to provide scholarships, financial education workshops and other sponsorship support. Addition Financial is also the home of the official UCF Knights debit cards, with designs featuring the new Knight head and the Citronaut.
“Addition Financial is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with UCF Athletics and to align with Orlando’s hometown teams. Knight Nation has truly inspired us along their journey to the Big 12, and we look forward to embarking on that journey alongside them as we extend our partnership,” said Kevin Miller, Addition Financial president and CEO.
The 10,000-seat Addition Financial Arena has been home to the UCF men’s and women’s basketball programs since the start of their 2007-08 seasons. Located in the heart of Knights Plaza on the north side of campus, the state-of-the-art facility opened in the fall of 2007 and also hosts premiere concerts along with UCF commencement ceremonies.
College Basketball
UCF Knights “Charge On” to 80-58 Victory over Quinnipiac
Published
6 years agoon
December 18, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The UCF Knights (5-4) hosted the Quinnipiac Bobcats (1-6) at Addition Financial Arena Tuesday night in just their third overall meeting; with both teams splitting the match-ups with one win each in previous years’ match-ups. The last game between the two schools was December 29, 2005 in Orlando, which the Bobcats won 71-55. This time, however, the outcome favored the Knights.
The first half of the game was competitive with the score tied on four occasions and seven lead changes. UCF Knights entered halftime with a 40-29 lead over the Bobcats. Leading the Knights in scoring was Kay Kay Wright with 10 points; and for the Bobcats, Shaq Edwards with 12 points.
The Knights started the third period on a mission with a 10-2 run, increasing their lead to 18 points. With a mixture of defenses and using their length inside, the Knights controlled the second half with offense rebounding, winning the battle of points in the paint (50-10) and forcing 22 turnovers from the Bobcats that resulted in 21 points for the Knights. In the end, the Knights won the contest 80-58. Leading all scorers was Shaq Edwards of Quinnipiac and Brittney Smith of UCF with 18 points apiece.
Next up, UCF Women’s Basketball host St. Mary’s (4-5) Friday, December 20, 2019 at 2:30pm.
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Jelisa Caldwell is a Florida National News sports contributor. | info@floridanationalnews.com
College Basketball
Forced Turnovers Carries Knights to American Athletic Conference Quarterfinals
Published
8 years agoon
March 9, 2018By
FNN SPORTS
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – In the final game of the opening day of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Central Florida Knights used defense carry them to a 66-52 victory over the East Carolina Pirates.
Senior guard B.J. Taylor led the Knights in scoring with 17 points and head coach Johnny Dawkins’ team forced 20 turnovers in the victory. In front of a partisan crowd at Amway Center, the Knights used a 10-0 run to put them up by 11 with 6:12 to go in the game. After the Pirates cut the lead to 46-45 with 9:15 to go, Terrell Allen had two steals in a three-minute stretch and A.J. Davis capped the run with back-to-back layups that put the game out of reach.
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Danny Thompson is a sports contributor for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com
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