Knights suffer their third straight loss

Love was not in the air for UCF Knights basketball as they surrendered a 14-point lead, losing to the West Virginia Mountaineers 74-67 on Saturday at the Addition Financial Arena.

UCF men’s basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins said the Knights (17-7, 6-6 Big 12) did not execute down the stretch against the Mountaineers (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) and emphasized the team’s need to revisit their standards of play.

“We need to play together, fighting the same way, and that’s when we’ve had the most success,” Dawkins said in the postgame conference. “We need to get back to playing UCF basketball: defend, rebound, and play the right way offensively.”

A crowd of over 8,000 roared as senior guard Riley Kugel drained the opening three-pointer, kickstarting a tight contest. However, UCF lost its offensive rhythm early as the Knights experienced scoring droughts for more than two minutes before putting points on the board.

West Virginia began running away with the lead, putting a distant 14-10 score. Though UCF recovered slowly and reclaimed the lead at 20-18 after two free throws from Kugel, followed by a three-pointer from junior forward Jordan Burks.

A driving layup by junior guard Chris Johnson on the fast break, assisted by fifth-year guard Themus Fulks, forced West Virginia to take its first timeout with less than three minutes left on the clock.

West Virginia senior guard Jasper Floyd closed the first half with a jumper, narrowing the matchup further at 29-28.

Despite the close contest, both teams faced issues scoring. UCF shot 37% from the field compared to West Virginia’s 36%, and hit on 30% of their three-point attempts, compared to a paltry 8% for the Mountaineers in the first half.

West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge said he stressed the importance of defense to his Mountaineers in order to recover in the second half.

“This group’s been in these positions before and, typically, we do a good job of not panicking,” Hodge said in the postgame conference. “It was just, ‘Hey, we don’t have to panic on offense, but like our level of urgency and desperation on the defensive end of the floor is going to have to pick up right this second.’”

UCF came out of the locker room fighting, including a three-point jumper from junior forward Jordan Burks off an opponent’s turnover and a second-chance layup by sixth-year forward Devan Cambridge, which kept the lead at a distance.

A layup in the paint from Fulks, putting the Knights at a lengthy 51-37 lead, forced West Virginia to call a timeout early in the second half.

Shortly after, Cambridge took a hard fall after a block attempt—causing Johnson to substitute in—but came back in action minutes later, contributing a layup for UCF.

What seemed to be a victory for the Knights turned into heartbreak as they began to crumble on both sides of the court during the final stretch of the game.

The Mountaineers found their offensive stride with a scoring run by West Virginia senior forward Brenen Lorient, followed by successful free throws from West Virginia senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, bringing the score to 54-53.

The two free throws from West Virginia senior guard Honor Huff tied the score at 62-62 for the first time in the second half.

With less than two minutes on the clock, an errant pass from Fulks allowed a three-point jumper from West Virginia senior guard Jasper Floyd that put the Mountaineers back on top.

UCF struggled to recover from there, and Eaglestaff delivered the last two free throws that resulted in another loss for the Knights. Even though UCF led the matchup for nearly 25 minutes overall, West Virginia rallied for a 74-67 victory by the end of the game.

Fulks led UCF all around the court with 19 points, seven assists, six turnovers and four rebounds, but could not stop a comeback from the Mountaineers.

After three consecutive losses, Dawkins said the Knights need to fight out of their rut to push forward in conference play.

“Nothing’s going to be given to you in this league,” Dawkins said. “We have to make the adjustments that are necessary and come out with a better performance the next time we step foot on the floor. Every night, you’re facing somebody that can beat you, and you have to play well to win.”

The Knights stay home to battle against the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs (16-9, 6-6 Big 12) at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 at the Addition Financial Arena.