- March 29, 2024
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A sputtering start has blown out the cobwebs for UCF men’s basketball. Now the Knights are racing ahead with a string of wins in a big turnaround compared to 2014-15.
After a 5-point loss at Davidson in North Carolina to start the season, the Knights (4-3) have only lost twice more in seven games by a combined 2 points.
As December rolled around, the Knights got rolling.
They bowled over Stetson on Dec. 2 in a 94-85 slugfest on the Hatters’ home court, with the Knights’ resident giant Tacko Fall pouring in 23 points, going 11-for-12 and grabbing three rebounds. Just behind him, Chance McSpadden dropped 21 in the basket, including three from downtown.
When they came home to host Illinois-Chicago three days later, they made the dominating Stetson win look like a warm up. Five minutes into the game, the rout was already underway, as UCF blew open a 10-point lead and never relinquished it. At one point the game was 35-points wide before contracting only slightly to 88-58. Showing a deep bench, the Knights let Daiquan Walker rain down 21 points and grab 4 boards in just 14 minutes on the floor. Fall picked up 8 points, six rebounds and three blocks in just 14 minutes.
In the wake of those dominating games, Fall, the 7-foot-6-inch center, was named the American Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Week.
Against UMass (5-3) Tuesday night, the Knights showed they can defend too, edging the Minutemen 67-63 on 18 turnovers and 31 defensive rebounds. Adonys Henriquez grabbed eight rebounds and three turnovers while hitting 11 points.
The Knights had a few days off before they face Florida Atlantic (1-5) on Saturday. The Owls fell 74-48 to East Carolina to start December. There are still three weeks to go before the Knights start their first conference game.
Rollins
Nine straight wins to start the season, including a nail-biter on Dec. 4, have catapulted Rollins to the top of the NCAA Division II basketball rankings. That streak includes wins over two top-25 teams, and wins over both of their Sunshine State Conference opponents so far.
The most recent win, a 75-74 thriller over longtime rival Nova Southeastern in Ft. Lauderdale, the Tars roared back from a double-digit deficit in the final five minutes to win on a three-pointer in the final seconds.
That decisive comeback shot came courtesy of Joey Galvis, who led the team with 20 points as the Tars struggled with shooting percentage, only scoring 39.3 percent of the time. In a game where the Tars were out-shot, out-rebounded, gave up more turnovers and missed more free throws, they made up from the big arc with 15 three-pointers to NSU’s 11, helping split the difference in the game. Former Winter Park Wildcat James Ferrell led the team with six assists.
The Tars return home at 2 p.m. Saturday to face Eckerd (8-1) at the Alfond Sports Center with the hopes of extending their perfect season to 10 games.
Winter Park
The Winter Park boys are 4-4 to start the season after edging Freedom (1-5) 46-43 on Dec. 7, propelled by Wyatt Wilkes’ 14 points and Malik Farley’s 10 points.
The boys will travel to Timber Creek at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 for their first district game of the season, then face Orlando Christian Prep at the Hoops with a Heart tournament at 3 p.m. on Dec. 12 at Oviedo High School.
The girls fell in their first district game 69-59 at Colonial on Dec. 4. That dropped them to 3-3 on the season as they prepare to take on Freedom (2-4) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at home.