Orlando, FL— A devastating loss down the stretch as the UCF Citronauts lost to the #8 Iowa State Cyclones 60-52.
Coming off two wins in a row, UCF was looking to build momentum against one of the top teams in the nation and to get their fourth win against a ranked opponent this season. Iowa State did a great job of taking the fans out of it in the first half and setting the tone early with their defense.
The Cyclones not only forced the Citronauts into a season-high 22 turnovers but they did an exceptional job of guarding on the perimeter as UCF shot a season-low 1-19 from behind the arch. Every chance that Iowa State had to press up on guys during the inbounds, trap on the perimeter, and just play stifling defense they did.
“Not too worried about that. I mean, obviously, we gotta hit our open shots when they’re available, continue to take them,” UCF’s Shemarri Allen said on the team’s shooting woes from distance tonight. “But we believe in our shooters and our teammates all the time. I know on the offensive end, they’ll start falling.”
Despite a first where the Citronauts turned the ball over 14 times, UCF’s Jaylin Sellers was the star of the show and was making plays all over the floor in that first half. Sellers got it started with the first basket of the game, a pull-up jumper at the elbow, followed up by a huge left-handed slam in transition off a steal from Darius Johnson, and he capped it off with a steal and slam on ISU’s Keshon Gilbert that got the crowd ignited. Iowa State led UCF going into the halftime locker room 36-29.
After a slow start where he went scoreless in the first half, Darius Johnson helped ignite this UCF team and sparked a comeback in the second half after trailing by as much as nine points. Johnson got his first basket of the game going downhill and getting a strong finish at the rim over ISU’s Milan Momcilovic. Darius followed it up drawing a shooting foul and tying the game up at 38 a piece at the foul line. To cap it all off Darius Johnson got inside the paint and had an incredible finish over multiple defenders that got the crowd ignited as UCF led it 48-47 with 7:52 left in the game.
The ball game was tied 50 a piece at the 3:05 mark, and the Cyclones clamped up defensively in the final stretch limiting UCF to only two more points the remainder of the game. The Citronauts didn’t execute well down the stretch with more sloppy turnovers, not connecting on their open looks and multiple offensive fouls that gave the ball right back to ISU. What was a one-possession game became a six-point lead for the Cyclones as Keshon Gilbert got a steal and coast-to-coast layup in the final two minutes of the game.
Undisciplined basketball, woeful shooting, and not getting enough defensive stops down the stretch are what ultimately was the difference between UCF winning and losing this game.
“I thought, you know, we had our looks,” UCF’s Head Coach Johnny Dawkins said postgame about Iowa State’s defensive performance. “We just didn’t knock them down in that last four-minute segment—I think that comes down to just the level of intensity of the game, fatigue maybe coming down the stretch.”
Iowa State’s Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger was very fond of the hospitality of UCF, the job Johnny Dawkins does in terms of preparation, and how the UCF program is doing a great job overall.
“As we got ready for this game, it took me back to that spot of just the respect I have for him [Johnny Dawkins], this program, and what he continues to accomplish. They’re a really good team, and they’re playing high-level basketball—He’s done a great job with this team, with this program, we just feel really fortunate to come out with a win.”
The Knights will have to learn from their mistakes in this game and be much better on both sides of the ball if they want any chance of taking down the best team in the nation the Houston Cougars on Wednesday. UCF has now dropped to 15-13 and 6-10 in conference play this season, as they will prepare for the Cougars on March 6.