ORLANDO, FLORIDA---When the 2015-2016 UCF Knights' non-conference schedule was released this summer, the big matchup that stood out to everyone was December 29 as the George Washington Colonials were going to travel to "City Beautiful" as a final primer for conference play. 

Unfortunately for the "Black and Gold," just like Donnie Jones' Knights started their non-conference slate (a loss at Davidson of the Atlantic 10), they concluded it as George Washington came out hot in the second half in route to a 67-50 victory.

Led by four quick points from "fab freshman" Tacko Fall, UCF was initially able to hang around with the weapon-filled scoring attack of the Colonials, for they found themselves down 10-9 after six and a half minutes. 

Nevertheless, George Washington eventually found a lengthy advantage thanks to a 12-5 spurt, four of which came from Wake Forest transfer Tyler Cavanaugh (22-14). Unfortunately for them, a mental mistake would kill all the momentum they had.

With the shot clock winding down on the Knights' ensuing possession, sharpshooter Tanksley Efianayi was forced to fire a long triple. Clank! But the whistle blew and a foul was called on George Washington's Matt Hart! Efianayi, a 81.8% free throw shooter, calmly went to the line and sank all three attempts to attain a small piece of momentum for his squad.

Or more like a huge piece as Justin McBride chipped in two more before Efianayi netted a triple to knot the game at 22! 

Although the Colonials re-took control and stayed one step ahead for the rest of the half, Mike Lonergan's team had only a 34-31 edge going into halftime. But on a positive note, it would end up being their smallest lead in the last twenty minutes.

Thanks to 11 points from "star seniors" Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen as a part of a 16-4 beginning half run, George Washington had their biggest lead (15) with just 5 minutes and 13 seconds elapsed from the clock! 

Later in the second twenty minutes, the Colonials would continue to march towards victory after a capitalized "and one" by Joe McDonald and a free throw from Garino, which extended their advantage to 20. 

While the Knights truly could not have thrown the ball in the ocean during the second half, it didn't help that every break went the Colonials way. Matt Hart desperation three as the shot clock was at 1? Cash money! 50/50 ball on the floor? George Washington comes up with it and calls a timeout! The confidence George Washington's had was too insurmountable to overcome; therefore, the Knights had to hang on, pull their helmets on tight, and take the punches served by their opponent until triple zeros were on the clock.

Veterans Making the Difference

Upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) outscoring UCF as a whole (59-50), George Washington was guided in Orlando by their experienced veterans, especially seniors Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen, and Joe McDonald. With Garino (17 points) and Larsen (14 points) leading the way with points and McDonald stuffing the stat sheet (7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists), the Colonials looked like a team ready to fight off Dayton and Davidson in the always entertaining Atlantic 10. 11-2 George Washington opens up conference play Sunday as they host Fordham.

Coming Out from Halftime without their Swords

"We didn't score, and we really didn't stop them." 
---Justin McBride

Shooting 39% in the first half but only down three points at the intermission, the UCF Knights had to know coming out of halftime, a higher percentage of shots made would be vital to victory. Or maybe they should have known. Somehow making less of their attempts than before, Coach Jones' squad made a measly 32% of their attempts. Honestly, the only players who actually had half-way productive nights were Tanksley Efianayi, who drilled two three-pointers in a 12-point night, Shaheed Davis (11 points on 3-of-7 shooting), and Tacko Fall, who was a perfect 3-for-3 in 12 minutes of action. 

Missing B.J.

In the first game since the announcement that star B.J. Taylor would not be returning this season, UCF seemed to have missed their superstar the most. Yet, even with the aforementioned struggles, head coach Donnie Jones stayed unsure whether the news had any barring on the team. "I haven't really talked about it. Obviously, we mentioned B.J. wouldn't be back. Injuries happen in sports unfortunately. It's going to happen and it has been unfortunate what has happened to him because I know he has been an important part of our team. It starts with the quarterback. But he's not going to be here. And Daiquon (Walker) is a senior and him and Chance (McSpadden) is going to have to grow up quick." 6-5 UCF will open up American Athletic Conference play at East Carolina Saturday.

He Said It (Part I)

"Not really, not really. I mean it's basketball, if we can't do anything else, we can play ball. No excuses, no apologizes." 
---Justin McBride on whether the week off between tonight's contest and their last game (Bethune-Cookman) played a factor in their performance.

He Said It (Part II)

"It was nice to actually see them go down. And I am going to continue to take them because I feel I can knock those down."
---Tanksley Efianayi when asked about the best performance of his young career in Central Florida.

He Said It (Part III)

"I think no excuses. I told those guys that--that is was what I talked about at the beginning of the game that you have to play through it. It will be a physical game, it will be a mental game."
---UCF head coach Donnie Jones' response to if playing against an experienced "senior-laden" squad like George Washington with primarily underclassmen had an effect--if any.