Knights Fall 105-93 in High Scoring Affair Against Vanderbilt

The court at Addition Financial Saturday evening was a sea of black and gold, as UCF hosted an SEC-Big 12 showdown against the like-colored Vanderbilt. Both teams excelled offensively, but Vanderbilt was nearly unstoppable, hitting ten first half threes en route to a 105-93 victory.

Senior guard Riley Kugel followed up his 19 point performance against Hofstra with another strong showing, scoring a game-high 25. Similar to UCF's first outing, Kugel helped keep the game within striking distance in the first half, nailing all four of his three-point attempts. 

But, the Knights' defense struggled to run Vanderbilt shooters off the three-point line. Vanderbilt senior forward Tyler Nickel continued his hot start to the season, making four of his eight tries from deep and scoring 17 points. 

Kugel told media after the game that he expected Vanderbilt to come ready to play, but said that the Knights have "a few screws to fix" on the defensive end. Kugel has experience playing against Vanderbilt from his previous SEC stops at Mississippi State and Florida.

"They came and shot the ball very well today," Kugel said. "So, kudos to them. But, we've just got to do a better job on the defensive end." 

Kugel went on to say that he believes the team just needs to "buy-in" on the defensive end and is confident that these defensive mistakes can be fixed in practice. 

UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins' message was similar. saying this game showed "areas we've got to clean up."

"We gave up 105 points tonight. That's not who we want to be as a team," Dawkins said. "They're a high-scoring, high-octane team, we knew that. But, our defense has got to be better.

UCF shot 44.8% from the field in the first half, but the Commodores' offense was on fire, shooting a whopping 61.3%. UCF trailed 52-36 at the break.

In the second half, UCF did a good job of slowing down Vanderbilt's three-point onslaught, but the Commodores were able to adjust and began to attack the Knights downhill.

UCF's defense seemed to be one-step slow on it's close-outs and rotations, allowing straight-line drives for Vanderbilt's guards. The Commodore's starting backcourt combined for 37 points and seven assists. 

Dawkins is still looking for the right pieces to plug into his revamped squad. This was on full display with his rotations, as twelve different Knights logged playing time. 

Junior guard Chris Johnson was one of these players. Johnson hadn't played in UCF's first game, but made the most out of his opportunity Saturday night. 

Johnson scored seventeen points and dished out 5 dimes in his minutes off the bench. He showed great poise handling the ball in the pick-and-roll, either making the right read or creating his own shot. 

For a UCF team still looking for its identity, this performance may make Johnson a staple in the lineup going forward. 

"Just trusting my work and trusting my teammates..." Johnson told media. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity honestly."

Following the loss, the Knights drop to 1-1  and will face Florida A&M this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.