No. 12 Cincinnati beats UCF 49-38

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gary Clark has seen the University of Central Florida's 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall for three seasons and he's still in awe.

Clark, a 6-8 senior at Cincinnati, scored 17 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in helping the Bearcats (16-2, 5-0) to an ugly, but effective 49-38 victory over Fall and the Knights (12-6, 3-3). Jacob Evans added 10 points for the Bearcats, who won their ninth game in a row.

"You watch him on film and then you see him in person and his arms are so long that you don't know how far he is away from you," Clark said. "You think you're open and then he blocks a shot and after that everybody is just trying to get it off as fast as they can.

"Eventually, you just keep faking until you get him off balance and try to slide one past him."

The Bearcats were doing a lot of that, especially in the first half when they tried to challenge Fall, but rushed things so badly they shot just 23.1 percent.

"Every time we play UCF, there is a shock factor for the first few minutes because of Tacko," UC coach Mick Cronin said. "The things you normally do, work against you. Then Gary started going at him and it changed the game. Our guys mirror him. He steps it up when he needs to and our guys follow."

Fall was one of three UCF players to score seven points in what was a frustrating night offensively. The Knights hit just 30 percent of their field goal attempts (15 of 50) and didn't get Fall involved in the offense until the midway point of the second half when he scored six straight points on two dunks and a layup. Those were his only field goals of the game.

"Our guys have to do a better job of knowing where and when to get Tacko the ball," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We're a little inexperienced on the perimeter and it's hard for our guys to see when to get him the ball. They'll get better at it when they get a little more experience."

Cincinnati, which has suffered slow starts in its last three games, overcame this one by using transition speed to beat the Knights down the court. That was especially effective when Fall was on the bench, which he was when Clark made a layup to put the Bearcats ahead for good at the 13:40 mark of the second half.

Clark's basket was the start of a 10-2 run that gave Cincinnati a 38-30 advantage.

UCF made a brief run when Fall's three baskets cut the deficit to 39-36, but the rally died when the Knights center missed two free throws on the next possession.

"Give Cincinnati credit," Dawkins said. "We had a lot of shots, but none of them were really uncontested. They swarm you, they're athletic, they make plays and they're either deflecting balls or changing your shot. That's a really good defensive team."

BIG PICTURE

Cincinnati advanced to No. 12 in the rankings this week, but that looked in jeopardy when it couldn't find an offensive spark against a very good UCF defense. The Bearcats relied on Clark to keep them alive until Cane Broome's 3-pointer in the second half took the lid off the basket. That was the start of an 8-0 run that allowed Cincinnati some much-needed breathing room. The Bearcats head home where they have won 35 straight and should solidify that national ranking. UCF, meanwhile, will look at the film and wonder how they missed so badly on shots around the basket. The Knights had several opportunities to get big leads in the first half, but hit only seven of 31 shots, many of them layups.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Cincinnati had its struggles offensively, but the Bearcats more than made up for it at the defensive end of the court. "Our kids understand why they win," Cronin said. "I don't really have to prod these guys to defend and when you hold a team to 38 points in their gym, you've got to be happy."

HALFTIME CELEBRATION:

UCF honored its undefeated football team at halftime. The Knights were the only unbeaten team in the country this season, capping a 13-0 season with a 34-27 win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl.

HE'S BACK.

UCF junior guard B.J. Taylor, who injured his foot in the first game of the season, returned for the first time since then. Taylor, a preseason first-team all-conference selection, played 21 minutes and scored six points.

UP NEXT

Cincinnati: The Bearcats put a 35-game home winning streak on the line Saturday against East Carolina.

UCF: Travels to South Florida to play in-state rival Bulls.

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