Isaac Sosa Leads UCF Men's Basketball to Win

Behind a season-high 19 points from freshman guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), the UCF men’s basketball team recorded a 66-64 victory over South Dakota State at the Cancun Challenge Saturday. The Knights (3-2) overcame an eight-point halftime deficit at the Moon Palace Resort.

Down by as many as 10 points after intermission, UCF used a 10-2 run midway through the second half to get back into the game. The Knights took the lead for good with 5:52 to play after sophomore guard Taylor Young (Orlando, Fla.) made a pair of foul shots.

The Jackrabbits (2-4) cut the UCF advantage to 65-64 with three seconds to play when Garrett Callahan made two free throws. Sosa was then fouled, but missed both of his attempts. Senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) tipped the second miss to Sosa, who was fouled and made one free throw with less than a second to go in the game.

Sosa made 8-of-12 shots from floor and also hit a pair of 3-pointers in 27 minutes off the bench.

“He (Sosa) stepped up from an offensive standpoint, making shots for us,” UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. “We faced adversity in a lot of different ways tonight. The guys really overcame that. It was our defense in the last 10-12 minutes that was key.”

The contest was the first of two games in Mexico for the Knights.

Sosa cut the South Dakota State lead to 40-32 at the break when he hit a triple from the corner with two seconds left in the half. He recorded 10 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Jacks hit six triples and grabbed 10 offensive boards in the opening half.

After Young’s free throws with just under six minutes to play in the contest, neither team scored for nearly two minutes. Redshirt freshman guard Chris Baez (Kissimmee, Fla.) was the first to score after Young’s foul shots, draining a triple that gave UCF a 63-58 advantage with 3:55 on the clock. South Dakota State quickly got within three after Callahan hit a trey on the ensuing possession.

Young finished with a career-high 10 points. Taylor, who entered the contest averaging 20 points, totaled just seven, but did grab a team-high seven boards. UCF shot 43.6 percent overall and 46.2 percent from deep.

Kai Williams scored 15 of his team-high 16 points in the first half for the Jacks. Callahan totaled 15 points. The Knights limited South Dakota State to a 31.7 percent shooting effort overall and a 26.9 percent showing from 3-point range.

UCF will conclude the Cancun Challenge Sunday, facing Morehead State at 6 p.m. Eastern. CBS College Sports will broadcast the game nationally. In the Orlando area, Bright House Sports Network will air the game live.

Fans can listen to the game on the UCF-ISP Sports Network and 740 AM in Orlando, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. Free audio will be available at UCFAthletics.com.