UCF Basketball Falls at Ole Miss

Playing its third-straight game away from home, the UCF men’s basketball team fell 78-46 to Ole Miss on Wednesday evening at the Tad Smith Coliseum. Senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) paced the Knights (2-2) with 16 points.

After UCF led by 12 points early in the game, the Rebels (4-1) closed the first half with a 13-0 run and never looked back. Ole Miss outscored the Knights 51-20 after intermission.

In the second half, the Rebels shot 64.3 percent from the field and made 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from 3-point range. From the field, UCF made just 25.8 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes.

For the game, Ole Miss shot 44.8 percent overall and limited the Knights to a 30.6 percent showing. The Rebels also connected on 17 free throws, compared to three for the visitors. David Huertas made four triples and recorded 24 points in the victory.

“We played awfully well at the beginning the game in executing,” UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. “We are up 12 with 5:40 to go (in the first half). From that point on in the game… we stopped competing on defense and fighting through screens. We just kind of gave in.”

The Knights were playing their third-consecutive road game. On Saturday, UCF recorded an impressive win, topping host New Mexico, 72-71, at The Pit.

Thanks to the 13-0 run, the hosts had a 27-26 edge at the half. UCF did not score during the final 5:19 of the period. Huertas totaled seven points during the spurt.

UCF raced out to a 14-3 lead five minutes into the game. Taylor had seven points before the 15-minute mark.

Taylor was the lone Knight to finish with double-figures in scoring. He also led the squad with five boards. Freshman guard A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.) dished out a game-high seven assists for UCF.

The Knights made only 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) of their shots from deep. Ole Miss finished the contest with a 46-34 edge on the glass.

UCF will conclude a stretch of five-straight games away from home this weekend, competing at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico. The Knights will play two games in Mexico, starting with a 6 p.m. Eastern contest on Saturday versus South Dakota State.