Bearcats top UCF for 15th straight win
Tom Groeschen , tgroeschen@enquirer.com Published 10:58 p.m. ET Feb. 8, 2017 | Updated 10 minutes ago
Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) goes up for a shot in the first half.
Kareem Elgazzar
The 7-foot-6 Central Florida big man was a rare sight to behold, but the No. 11 Cincinnati Bearcats went about their basketball business as usual Wednesday night.
As in, UC’s 15th consecutive victory. The Bearcats never trailed in beating UCF 60-50 before 9,510 fans at Fifth Third Arena, in a matchup of elite defensive teams. The Knights entered game ranked No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage defense at 35.6, and the Bearcats were No. 3 at 37.1 percent.
That was roughly how it went Wednesday also, as the Bearcats shot 35.4 percent from the floor and the Knights hit 39.6 percent.
Junior forward Kyle Washington led UC with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore wing Jacob Evans had 11 points and six assists, and senior guard Kevin Johnson scored nine points. Junior forward Gary Clark had eight points and eight rebounds, and senior point guard Troy Caupain had five points and six assists.
Tacko Fall, UCF’s 7-foot-6, 290-pound sophomore center, had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Fall went 7-for-7 from the field, with five dunks and also two tip-ins from short range. Fall also committed six turnovers, as UC tried to station at least one man in front of him defensively. Sometimes, Washingotn and Clark double-teamed Fall underneath.
Fall, from Dakar, Senegal, is billed by UCF as one of the 40 tallest people in the world. Fall entered the game ranked third on UCF with a 12.3 scoring average and leading the team with 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Fall also ranks No. 2 nationally with a 74.7 field goal percentage.
Sophomore guard B.J. Taylor also had 14 points for UCF.
The Bearcats now own an 8-0 lead in their series with UCF.
The Bearcats also extended their home winning streak to 23 games, dating back to last season.
UCF (15-9, 6-6 AAC) has been the most improved team in the league, after going 12-18 last season.
OUT AGAIN: UC freshman center Nysier Brooks (hyperextended knee) was moving better as the
GAME GLANCE: UC led by as much as 15 points in the first half, but settled for a 34-28 halftime lead.
The Bearcats were playing at a fast pace to start the game, jumping to a 9-0 lead. The tempo continued apace, and UC shot out to a 30-15 lead.
Then, UCF’s Fall started getting more involved as UCF was able to slow down and run some offense. Fall wound up with eight points in the first half on 4-for-4 shooting. That included two dunks, and two follow-up tips where Fall barely left his size-22 shoes. That is just how tall is Fall.
Washington led UC in the first half with 12 points and six rebounds.
UC shot out to a 39-28 lead to start the second half. UCF would come as close as five points, 46-41 with 10:39 left, but the Bearcats soon pushed their lead back to double digits. The final minutes were just a matter of keeping the Knights at arm’s length, which UC easily did.
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