NCAA News Wire
Memphis 76, Central Florida 70
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For a while Wednesday, No. 20 Memphis played as though it might be the team that would allow Central Florida to break its losing streak.
UCF trailed just 53-52 following a dunk by forward Kasey Wilson with 5:16 left in the game. However, the Tigers went on a 17-4 run to open a 14-point lead, and they held on for a 76-70 victory at FedExForum.
The Knights (9-13, 1-10 American Athletic Conference) suffered their ninth consecutive loss.
Memphis (19-5, 8-3) got 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals from guard Joe Jackson. Tigers forward Shaq Goodwin had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Guards Chris Crawford and Michael Dixon each finished with 10 points and four assists.
Forward Tristan Spurlock led UCF with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Isaiah Sykes finished with 14 points, but he committed seven turnovers. Wilson added 10 points and six rebounds.
Memphis shot 50 percent (27-for-54). The Knights shot 44.6 percent (29-for-65). UCF won the battle of the boards 39-27, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds, and it beat the Tigers 24-15 on second-chance points.
UCF held a 16-13 lead in the first half following a tip-in by forward Staphon Blair. Memphis then went on a 16-0 run, going up 29-16.
Just when it looked like the Tigers were about to run away, the Knights answered with a 10-0 run to climb within 29-26. Memphis carried a 36-30 lead into halftime after forward David Pellom banked in a shot just before the buzzer.
Spurlock led all scorers with 12 first-half points. Jackson led Memphis with nine points before the break.
Official Jim Burr ejected a fan sitting courtside and wearing a Memphis cap. It was not clear what led to the ejection, but the man did not leave until security arrived at his seat.
NOTES: During UCF’s nine game skid, seven of the losses were by 10 or more points. The Knights’ last victory was a 78-76 decision over visiting Temple on Jan. 4. … Knights G Isaiah Sykes is the only player to rank in the American Athletic Conference’s top 15 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and field-goal percentage. … Tigers G Joe Jackson made the AAC’s Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 13.0 points and 6.5 assists in a 2-0 week. … In the previous five meetings played in Memphis, the Tigers beat UCF by an average of 20.4 points.
