ORLANDO – Bethune-Cookman got 19 points from Adrien Coleman,
but UCF's strong inside play led by Keith Clanton helped the Knights take a
72-62 victory Wednesday night at UCF Arena.
Clanton scored 30 points on 14-of-15 shooting and snagged 13
rebounds as the Knights (5-2) scored 58 of their 72 points in the paint. Tristan Spurlock also double-doubled (10
points, 11 rebounds) for the Knights, who shot 61.5 percent (32 of 52) from the
field and outrebounded the Wildcats 43-26.
Coleman was the lone player in double figures for B-CU,
which had a two-game winning streak stopped.
B-CU (4-7) fell behind 7-0 early, but got it to 16-12 on a Coleman
lay-up with 12:18 remaining. UCF built its lead back to 15, but Coleman scored
the final five points of the half to narrow the deficit to 38-28.
Spurlock gave UCF its biggest lead at 54-34 with 15:11
remaining.
B-CU got it under 10 on a Dukes jumper that made it 65-57
with 3:42 left, but a Matt Williams three-pointer and a Clanton lay-up helped
the Knights regain control.
Paul Scotland scored nine points for B-CU, while Ricky
Johnson and Dukes added seven apiece while Alex Smith and Javoris Bryant each
scored six.
B-CU travels to Pittsburgh for a 7 p.m. Saturday contest
that will air on ESPN3.
HEAD COACH GRAVELLE CRAIG:
“It's a
great opportunity to cut the margin to single digits on the road against a good
team. I was
happy we fought back, but when you play a good team on the road, all the little
things matter — getting loose balls, hitting free throws, making your layups. We
weren't doing those things.''
NOTES: UCF's 61.5 field goal percentage was the high for a
B-CU opponent this season,as were the 43 rebounds … B-CU committed just eight
turnovers, its second-lowest total of the year … B-CU was just 6-14 from the
line, but UCF was 5-15 … This was Johnson's first game back after missing five
due to a mild concussion … Dukes' stat line included eight assists and season
highs of six rebounds and four steals; Dukes also made a three-pointer for the
31st consecutive game … B-CU has now dropped eight straight to UCF.
