December 20 - Hartford, CT (Sports Network) - Stanley Robinson had 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, as the 14th-ranked Connecticut Huskies shook off a slow start to get by the UCF Knights, 60-51, at the XL Center.
No. 14 UConn Struggles To Get Past UCF
Jerome Dyson posted 16 points and Kemba Walker notched eight points with as many assists for UConn (7-2), which had a two-game win streak halted with a 64-61 loss to Kentucky on December 9.
Gavin Edwards totaled 11 rebounds, seven blocks and five points in the win.
Marcus Jordan had 13 points and A.J. Tyler scored 12, but the Knights were doomed by their 34.9 percent shooting from the field.
Dave Diakite pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for UCF (7-4), which has lost three of four since starting the season with wins in six of its first seven games.
Both squads started flat, as Jordan sank a three and followed with a jumper for an 11-6 score six minutes in. A Taylor Young layup midway through the half saw the Knights' lead at 15-11.
The shooting ineptitude continued with a stretch of over five minutes without a field goal following a Dyson bucket with 8:47 left. It ended on Jordan’s layup with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining, giving UCF a 19-17 advantage.
The Knights finished out the half on an 8-3 spurt and led 25-20 at halftime.
“It seems like every year around this time of the year we end up having one of these games,” said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. “I don’t think we’re a great shooting team, but I think we’re a pretty good shooting team. We’re good, and we can be really good if we play hard. We just didn’t play with energy.”
Robinson was about the only one on point for UConn, pouring in 10 points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half to knot the game at 35. Just past the halfway point, Robinson stuffed home a dunk and followed with a three- pointer around a UCF timeout to put the Huskies up 44-39.
Dyson then gave UConn some breathing room with an eight-point burst, beginning and ending on a pair of three-pointers for a 52-43 lead just past the five- minute mark.
“I was very proud of our guys in the way that they battled,” said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. “When they needed to step up, Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson certainly stepped up. They took over some things on the offensive end, and we didn’t have any answers when those guys stepped up and did that.”
Isaac Sosa buried a three for UCF around a Robinson bucket and free throw with the visitors still down eight. P.J. Gaynor's layup brought the Knights deficit to 56-49 with 1:32 to play.
Robinson responded with a dunk and Walker hit two at the line to put the game away.
Connecticut has won all three meetings with UCF, including an 85-82 squeaker over the Knights two years ago...Connecticut ended up shooting 43.9 percent from the field...Dyson was 5-of-15 from the floor, but 4-of-6 from three-point range...The Huskies hit 7-of-13 from beyond the arc for the game, while UCF made just two of its 14 attempts.
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