UCF had a difficult game this Saturday against the No. 3 seed. They didn’t make the game easy for themselves committing 13 turnovers in this game, and Houston turned them into 20 points. Tramon Mark of Houston was hacked by Ithiel Horton of Central Florida in the first half of of the game. Tramon Mark scored 19 points, and No. 3 Houston defeated Central Florida 71-65 on Saturday. Marcus Sasser had 18 points. Darius Johnson of the KNights scored 17 points along with 8 rebounds, 4 assistants and 1 block.
According to UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, “We have a lot of work to do. We’re still a work in progress due to the fact that we have so many new players, but we will keep striving to get better with each match. Despite the fact that our sport doesn’t provide moral victories, we must strive to improve and become more improved as we move through the season.”
With 7 ½ minutes to play, Houston went on an 8-0 run to surge ahead 60-54 on a three-pointer by Roberts, who scored all eight points. The Knights responded with a 7-2 run to narrow the gap to one on a free throw by Kelly with three minutes left.
Houston led 65-61 after Ja’Vier Francis made two free throws and Savannah Horton missed two 3-point shots with a minute to play. After two free throws by Horton, Sasser made one of two free throws to put Houston up 65-61.
With 32 seconds remaining, Shead made two free throws after UCF turned the ball over to increase the lead to six.
Houston played well down the stretch, according to Dawkins. They played off each other well.
UCF: UCF has lost all four of its Quadrant 1 games this season by six points or less. The Knights missed out on a Quad 1 win here. … UCF was 17 of 20 from the free-throw line, accounting for all four of their losses this season.
The Knights will try and rebound with a game against ECU on Wednesday.
