Knights dominate the boards and bench erupts, proving UCF's growth under Dawkins' watchful eye. A true team effort secures a crucial conference win.
Coach Johnny Dawkins witnessed his team return to form in a close, thrilling victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats (8-8, 0-3 Big 12) and voiced his satisfaction with his players' performances Sunday night.
Dawkins emphasized defensive discipline after the loss to Oklahoma State last week. Defending without fouling and rebounding the ball are what the Knights' leader highlighted specifically.
No. 25 UCF (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) drastically improved in those categories against the Bearcats, sending them to the free throw line eight times and winning the rebounding battle 30-27.
"I've been really happy with our guys' overall growth in the interior," Dawkins said. "You're talking about that's a big front line that they have, probably one of the biggest front lines we faced all season. And for us to win the rebounding battle is significant, and that's a big part of this game. We have some guys like [Jamichael] Stillwell, he's going to battle. Jeremy [Foumena] gave us a huge lift in there. Devin Cambridge does a really good job when he's in rebounding the basketball as well. So, we have guys that are active on the boards, but they all rebound really good."
Cincinnati has three players over 6-foot-10: Forwards Baba Miller (6-foot-11) and Halvine Dzellat (6-foot-10), and center Moustapha Thiam (7-foot-2). The Bearcats had 10 offensive rebounds to the Knights' four, but were dominated on the defensive glass.
UCF had 26 defensive rebounds to Cincinnati's 17. Eight of those 26 rebounds came from Foumena, who was an infectious spark plug off the bench.
Foumena scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and played a significant role for his team in the second half with multiple mid-range hook and jump shots. Guard Chris Johnson was another highlight player off the bench, as he scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting and nailed two threes.
Dawkins highlighted the Knights' bench play as one of their strengths and was happy to see Johnson and Foumena contribute 22 of the 24 bench points.
"We talked about it before, our strength being in our numbers and that's what we believe with our team," Dawkins said. "That's the kind of team that I really want to coach. Like I said, I would do it as long as we're capable of doing it and as long as guys are producing, then we're going to stick to that. And we have, and our guys have earned that, and we believe in them and so I'm glad to see them making those contributions that you saw today."
UCF's rebounding and bench play, alongside late-game heroics from guard Themus Fulks, helped the team get back in the win column against a conference opponent. They have yet to lose two consecutive games this season.
Dawkins and his squad will travel to the Bramlage Coliseum to face the Kansas State Wildcats, who have the sixth-leading scorer in the nation, guard P.J. Haggerty, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Peacock.