2008 Woodie Awards
Hit and Ole Miss
Knights fall to 4-4 in loss to Rebels
Brian Murphy
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Sports
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It was chapter three in the same old story for the UCF Men's Basketball team on Saturday night against Mississippi.
It was another gritty effort by the Knights against a quality big conference team, but when it came time to seal the deal, the Knights were left holding the bag - again.
The Knights (4-4) fought back from a 13-point deficit with nine minutes to play, but never gained the lead in their 76-67 loss to Ole Miss (7-0).
"It's real frustrating, because I thought we worked real hard in practice this week preparing for this game," UCF guard Jermaine Taylor said. "It just didn't go our way."
This loss resembled those that the Knights suffered against ranked teams Villanova and Kansas State during Thanksgiving weekend.
Versus Villanova, the Knights trailed by three points with less than two minutes to play. They then pushed Kansas State to overtime on the next night. And against Ole Miss, the Knights trailed by one with less than three minutes to play. But in the end, UCF lost all three games.
"It's a tremendously challenging schedule," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "We're fighting our tails off and coming up a little short on some of the ball games. The margin for error is slim, and we understand that."
The Knights didn't help themselves in the first half, as they came out slow and sluggish. The Rebels dictated the pace of the game's first five minutes and opened up a 15-6 lead. The Knights were able to cut that lead to four with about 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
But the Knights' inability to hit from the outside helped the Rebels enter halftime with a 42-32 lead. UCF was just 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Rebels were paced in the first half by freshman guard Chris Warren, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Warren, an Orlando native, was recruited by UCF, but he said that he didn't carry any extra incentive going into Saturday's game.
"Coach (Andy Kennedy) said 'when you got open shots, take them,'" Warren said. "And I felt comfortable when I was shooting, so I just shot it."
It was another gritty effort by the Knights against a quality big conference team, but when it came time to seal the deal, the Knights were left holding the bag - again.
The Knights (4-4) fought back from a 13-point deficit with nine minutes to play, but never gained the lead in their 76-67 loss to Ole Miss (7-0).
"It's real frustrating, because I thought we worked real hard in practice this week preparing for this game," UCF guard Jermaine Taylor said. "It just didn't go our way."
This loss resembled those that the Knights suffered against ranked teams Villanova and Kansas State during Thanksgiving weekend.
Versus Villanova, the Knights trailed by three points with less than two minutes to play. They then pushed Kansas State to overtime on the next night. And against Ole Miss, the Knights trailed by one with less than three minutes to play. But in the end, UCF lost all three games.
"It's a tremendously challenging schedule," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "We're fighting our tails off and coming up a little short on some of the ball games. The margin for error is slim, and we understand that."
The Knights didn't help themselves in the first half, as they came out slow and sluggish. The Rebels dictated the pace of the game's first five minutes and opened up a 15-6 lead. The Knights were able to cut that lead to four with about 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
But the Knights' inability to hit from the outside helped the Rebels enter halftime with a 42-32 lead. UCF was just 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Rebels were paced in the first half by freshman guard Chris Warren, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Warren, an Orlando native, was recruited by UCF, but he said that he didn't carry any extra incentive going into Saturday's game.
"Coach (Andy Kennedy) said 'when you got open shots, take them,'" Warren said. "And I felt comfortable when I was shooting, so I just shot it."