For a moment, it looked like Saturday's game against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions could in fact be a trap game.
Following the intense, emotional 57-54 win against the Florida Gators at the Amway Center on Wednesday, and with all the festivities that come with hosting a Conference USA championship football game, it seemed like the opportune time for the Lions from the Southland Conference, previously 4-1, to sneak in and out of the UCF Arena with a win.
They even ran out to a seven to nothing lead in the first two minutes of play.
Still, it was only for a moment, and the Knights (7-0) remained undefeated, beating the Lions (4-2) 74-49 in front of an announced crowd of 6,293.
Guard Isaac Sosa led the Knights with 17 points, trailed closely by forward Keith Clanton who chipped in 16.
Clanton neared a triple double, adding to his point total eight blocks and 15 rebounds.
Guard Trent Hutchin led the Lions with 18 points.
Defense again played a key role for the Knights, holding the Lions to 29.5 percent shooting on the game and keeping what is usually a potent three point shooting team away from getting good looks from distance.
The Knights recovered from their slow to start to outplay the Lions in a variety of categories, most notably a 27-10 difference in bench points and a 40-24 difference in points in the paint.
Coach Jones, who took a timeout after seeing only two minutes of play with the Knights going down seven quickly, said the fast start by their opponents helped to wake up his team.
"I pretty much said hey if you don't play hard we're taking you out," Jones said. "We didn't come out with the right mindset and give credit to Southeastern Louisiana, they did.
"Sometime as a team you have to get shocked before you wake up, but that's what's been great about this team is they've responded to runs."
Coach Jones said the team will turn the focus inwards for the next few days, looking at ways to improve themselves, before beginning their preparation for Bethune-Cookman.
The contest is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start Saturday at the UCF Arena.
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