UCF Tops Florida State for First Win of the Season

Following a heartbreaking, double overtime loss to UNC Asheville in their season opener, UCF bounced back with a 68-54 win over Florida State on Friday night.

After giving up 98 points in their loss to UNC Asheville, head coach, Johnny Dawkins, stressed the need for this team to improve defensively. UCF made some major strides on the defensive end, as the Knights held FSU to only 54 points.

UCF controlled the game throughout the majority of the matchup, with the Knights leading for 34:50 minutes, while FSU only led for 3:58.

UCF dominated the glass, making it an emphasis to crash the boards throughout the game. UCF heavily out-rebounded FSU, with the Knights grabbing 52 total rebounds, while the Seminoles grabbed 22 total rebounds. Arguably the biggest impact came on the offensive glass for UCF, as they recorded 24 offensive rebounds, compared to FSU’s 7 offensive rebounds. With their dominance on the offensive boards, UCF outscored FSU 22-0 on second chance points.

Postgame, Dawkins said, “We were out rebounded in our last game. We were very disappointed about that and we didn’t think that we defended to the level that we needed to defend. I thought both areas, if you look at the stat sheet, we cleaned up tonight.”

Jayhlon Young led the way offensively for the Knights, recording 17 points and 4 assists. True freshman, Taylor Hendricks had another impressive performance, recording his first double-double as a Knight, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.