UCF Knights face tough stretch of opponents

With a minute left, UCF clung to a 68-65 lead over Memphis in a game of nearly evenly matched teams. Sixty seconds later, they watched the Tigers’ K.J. Lawson put the nail in the coffin after an eight-point swing, downing the Knights 70-65 in Memphis.

B.J. Taylor led the Knights in scoring Sunday night, but he also gave up the final turnover as the Knights fell apart after a comeback of their own. Taylor ended the night with 16 points. The Knights’ giant center, Tacko Fall, chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.

The loss dropped the Knights to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the American Athletic Conference to start the week. They hosted SMU (17-4, 7-1), one of their toughest conference challenges, at press time Wednesday. At 1:30 p.m. Saturday they host Tulsa (11-7, 5-1).

UCF women’s basketball

After some early struggles in conference play the lady Knights are up to 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the AAC after spanking Cincinnati 64-44 in the CFE Arena on Tuesday night. A comeback from an early deficit saw the Knights ahead by halftime, and in the second half they outscored the Bearcats 36-17 thanks to Aliyah Gregory’s 22 points and six rebounds in just 27 minutes on the floor.

That helped them rebound nicely from a loss to Tulsa just a few days before. Coming up the Knights host Memphis at noon Saturday. The Tigers have struggled heavily this season, starting the week with an 8-11 overall record and 1-5 in the conference after losing three straight.