Shaheed Davis tipped in a Daiquan Walker miss with two seconds left to give the UCF Knights a win over the UMass Minutemen.
The script seemed familiar to the UCF Knights. It was shockingly similar to an earlier game at Miami (Ohio) where UCF lost a second-half lead and succumbed to late-game pressures.
There would be none of that Monday night at CFE Arena.
The struggles would remain and plenty of questions to answer for a still young team finding their way. But they found the resolve to pull the game out when the odds seemed to be against them at the end.
The Knights used a 12-3 run to end the game to retake the lead and secure a 67-63 win over the UMass Minutemen at CFE Arena on Tuesday.
The comeback was complete thanks to veteran players Daiquan Walker and Shaheed Davis. Davis followed Walker’s miss with a putback with about two seconds to play to give UCF the lead again.
LIT!!@UCF_MBB takes a 65-63 lead with 2.4 left!! #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/PUmPFZOWj8
— UCF Knights (@UCFKnights) December 9, 2015
The Knights trailed by four points at the media timeout and clicked on their defense to get back in the game. The Minutemen went into a bit of a shell offensively though too, trying to run the clock out. They still scored at several points to tie the game, Jabarie Hinds hit a tough shot over A.J. Davis to give the team a lead.
But after going to A.J. Davis for much of the closing stretch and letting him break down the defense from the high post, Walker took the ball on a pick and roll with Staphon Blair and pulled up at the elbow for an open jumper to tie the game.
UCF got a stop and let Walker go to work again. His lay up was no good, but no one boxed out Shaheed Davis and the Knights came away with a win.
Walker scored 10 points to go with four assists. A.J. Davis had 14 points and five rebounds. Shaheed Davis had 11 points and five rebounds too for a balanced UCF effort.
The Knights had to awaken from a stupor in the second half as the offense bogged down and the team struggled to find a consistent outlet. The team had 18 turnovers as the Knights saw a double-digit lead evaporate quickly.
UMass sharpshooter Trey Davis scored 20 points, with 15 coming in the second half as he shot 7 for 23 for the game. The Minutemen were much more careful with the ball in the second half and prevented the fast-break opportunities that helped the Knights build a double-digit lead and have complete control of the game in the first half.
The Knights used their defense to create offense and find holes in the Minutemen defense. Adonys Henriquez was able to find holes and hit 3-pointers off a drives from Chance McSpadden and Daiquan Walker.
UCF’s offense otherwise was fairly inconsistent. The team just could not consistently get into the paint except in big spurts when they got out in transition.
When the Knights got their defense to generate offense, it was a beautiful sight to watch. And it showed what UCF can become. It just was not there consistently. The Knights continue to be figuring out the right combinations and right formula to get the shots they want consistently.
But when the game counted, UCF finally had the answers. The team had the big plays and the push to win the game.
It was most evident on the game-winning play when Shaheed Davis beat his man and tipped in the game-winner.
