Orlando, FL— A late rally by the UCF Knights was all for nothing as they suffered a heartbreaking 76-74 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Cincinnati was in control of this game from start to finish and they extended the Knights’ losing streak to three in a row. The Bearcats got off to a quick start to begin this game as they went up 17-6 within the first six minutes of the game. Cincinnati was getting out in transition, pushing the pace, and forcing UCF into a lot of difficult shots that they couldn’t capitalize on. Third-year guard for the Bearcats, Simas Lukosius, had a great spin move and highlight reel alley-oop dunk by Aziz Bandaogo to get all the momentum on their side early on.
The Knights struggled to find any rhythm and consistency in that first half and as their shooting woes have continued, Shemarri Allen was a bright spot for this team. Allen filled up the stat sheet and made a lot of timely plays as he had six points, four rebounds, and three assists just in the first half alone. UCF would finish the first half shooting a porous 12 of 29 from the field, 1 of 7 from deep, and they trailed 37-30 going into the halftime locker room.
The Bearcats would get off to a hot start in that second half with two back-to-back floaters by Day Day Thomas and Simas Lukosius extending it to their largest lead of the game by 14. UCF continued to hang around in the second half never letting the Bearcats completely pull away, and the Knights made their run late in the game.
You had highlight-level plays all over the floor by UCF as they were able to get the crowd ignited it helped spark their late-game comeback. Shemarri Allen put on an array of moves with a spin on the left block and he finished with a right-handed layup scoop layup. UCF’s Ibrahima Diallo got to the line knocking down two free throws getting the score back to within ten points. Shemarri Allen the ensuing possession crossed over his defender and postered Cincinnati’s Aziz Bandaogo with a right-handed tomahawk hanging on the rim.
UCF took the momentum and ran with it as they had a few more big baskets down the stretch by both Darius Johnson and Marchelus Avery as they cut the Bearcats’ lead to 67-65 with 3:55 remaining in the game. Darius Johnson had a beautiful drive to the rim, created contact, and got the foul as he finished the basket on Day Day Thomas. Jaylin Sellers had a clutch pull-up fadeaway jumper at the left elbow that would tie the game 73 apiece and the Bearcats called timeout.
With 22 seconds left in the game, UCF fouled Aziz Bandaogo who went to the charity stripe and made only one of his two free throws extending their lead to 74-73. An opportunity for UCF to complete their late comeback all came crumbling down when Darius Johnson had a careless turnover to Jaylin Sellers on the inbounds pass that ultimately came back to bite them. Cincinnati would convert a tough layup extending the lead to three and UCF couldn’t capitalize on their chances.
“One thing about him, he’s never shined away from that,” UCF’s Head Coach Johnny Dawkins said on Darius Johnson’s ability to take over the game late for his team. “But for him, he never shines away from that position. There’s a reason why the ball seems to always end up in his hands—That says what the confidence that his teammates have in him, and they should because he’s not afraid of the moment.”
Despite being outrebounded on the glass 45-33, UCF was able to keep this game close as they had multiple opportunities down the stretch to win this game. The Knights had three players score in double figures tonight with Darius Johnson (16), Jaylin Sellers (15), and Shemarri Allen (15). The Knights have now dropped their third game in a row, they drop to 4-8 in conference play, and they will hit the road to take on West Virginia on Feb. 20th.