Knights bounce Back

The UCF men’s basketball team didn’t take its overtime loss to East Carolina well. In just their second Conference USA game of the season, the Knights had a win under their belt and were seconds away from another one when the Pirates came back and then sank a three pointer at the buzzer. The Knights had a week to take in the sting of that loss. Then they got revenge.

Houston had the fortune of facing the Knights Jan. 19 when they watched a sure win spiral into a loss. The Knights had held the lead in regulation for only a minute and a half. In overtime, they grabbed the lead immediately and never let go, the numbers 79-75 blazing on Houston’s scoreboard.

As usual center Keith Clanton and forward Isaiah Sykes split top scoring duties, with 22 and 19 points respectively, though four players made it into the double digits. Newcomer Calvin Newell had 15 points on the night.

After that big win the Knights have gone on a tear, felling three straight C-USA opponents by wider margins. But the games are getting tougher for the Knights, who played the four worst teams in the conference in their first five games. The only team they’ve lost to so far was also the best one they’d played yet.

By the end of the week they’ll have played all five of the bottom-dwelling teams in the conference, half of them on the road. But when they step back onto their home court on Feb. 6, they’ll face a Southern Miss team that’s gone 17-4 overall and is undefeated in conference play. That game tips off at 7 p.m. and could be the turning point of the Knights’ season.