Field Level Media
Nov 29, 2018
Guards B.J. Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins combined for 40 points as UCF held off Alabama 70-64 Thursday night in Orlando, Fla., to extend its winning streak to five games.
Taylor scored 24 points and Dawkins, the son of UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, added 16 for the Knights (6-1).
Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. and forward Alex Reese led the Crimson Tide (5-2) with 14 points each.
After trailing by 12 points early, Alabama took its first lead of the game when Reese dropped in a 3-pointer to put the Tide up 36-34 with 17 minutes left.
The teams went back and forth until the Knights went on a 10-3 spurt to take a 50-43 lead on Dawkins' free throws at the 11:11 mark. The Tide cut their deficit to 59-57 when Lewis dropped in back-to-back baskets, the latter a 3-pointer with 4:50 left, but could get no closer.
With UCF's 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall limited by foul trouble, the Tide outrebounded the Knights by a comfortable 46-29 margin but couldn't overcome spotty shooting.
Early in the first half, the Tide missed 11 consecutive shots to fall behind 19-7. Guard Dazon Ingram's layup at the 9:40 mark ended the drought, and the Tide eventually cut the deficit to 25-22 when Reese capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer with 1:35 left.
However, Dawkins ended the Tide's run with two free throws, and the Knights eventually led 29-25 at halftime.
Alabama finished the half shooting only 31 percent (9 of 29) from the field to UCF's 40 percent (8 of 20), but made up at least partly for that by dominating the boards. The Tide had as many offensive rebounds (10) as UCF had total and enjoyed a 25-13 advantage overall on the glass in the first 20 minutes.
The Tide started finding the range in the second half and finished shooting 37.9 percent for the game. UCF shot 46.7 percent overall.
--Field Level Media