ORLANDO, Fla. – The UNCG men's basketball team went toe-to-toe against one of the tallest teams in the nation and was tied with 4:20 remaining but the Spartans suffered a 65-54 loss to UCF Saturday night at the CFE Arena as the Knights closed the game on a 14-3 run.

The Spartans will be off for the Thanksgiving holiday until next weekend when they host the Spartan Showcase at the Greensboro Coliseum. UNCG will welcome in three games – Navy, IPFW and Jacksonville – for the round robin multi-team event that will see six total games played in three days. The Spartans open the tournament Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Midshipmen of Navy.

Sophomore guard Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) tied his career-high with 15 points despite battling foul trouble all night. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) dished out six assists and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the loss.

UNCG was limited to just 30.4 percent (21-of-69) shooting from the field and only 26.5 percent (9-of-34) shooting from 3-point land as the Knights played primarily zone in the victory. Additionally, the Spartans were only able to go to the free throw line three times in the loss. UCF connected on 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from long range but posted a 46-35 advantage on the glass.

Shaheed Davis led all scorers with 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds as he was 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from long range. Daiqaun Walker added seven assists and 11 rebounds for the Knights.

The Spartans came out of the gate quickly, opening to an 8-2 lead. Smith gave the Spartans the early lead by hitting a pair of 3-pointers while senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) scored in the paint early.

UCF started to trim the Spartans' lead as it pulled within two at 10-8 after Staphon Blair scored in the post. The Spartans were able to maintain their lead and took a 21-15 lead with 9:53 left in the half. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) scored four straight points and Baldwin scored on a drive for the six-point edge.

UCF answered back with six straight points on its way to a 14-4 run to take a 29-25 lead. The Knights took advantage of UNCG foul trouble in the post as all the Spartans' post players picked up two fouls in the first half. Seven-foot-six center Tacko Fall scored eight points in the run as he took advantage of his height advantage against the Spartans. Additionally, the Knights went to a zone defense, which limited the Spartans offense.

Junior guard Clay Byrd (Connelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) hit a 3-pointer against the zone with 40.9 seconds left and the Spartans defense came up with a big stop to head into the locker room at half trailing by just one at 29-28. The Spartans connected on 31.4 percent (11-of-35) from the field and hit just 4-of-16 (25%) from 3-point land in the half. Despite the height disadvantage, UNCG held a 22-21 edge on the glass in the first half and out-scored the Knights 8-6 in second chance points.

Smith led UNCG with eight points in the half while seven different Spartans scored in the first half. UCF connected on 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from the field but hit just 4-of-8 (50%) from the free throw line and committed seven turnovers. Shaheed Davis scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Knights while Fall added eight points in the first half.

UCF came out of the break and scored the first nine points to take a 38-28 lead. Davis led the way as he scored five points in the first couple of minutes of the second half. The Spartans started to chip away at the deficit and answered with nine straight points of their own as Smith scored seven of the nine points to make it a one-point game.

The Knights extended their lead back up to 43-37 but the Spartans kept battling.  UNCG posted an 11-0 run to take a 48-43 lead with 6:36 remaining in the game. Byrd started the run as he hit a three-pointer from the corner before senior guard Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C./East Burke) converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to give UNCG the lead. Alsono hit a 3-pointer to put the Spartans in front by five.

UCF answered right back with seven straight points of its own to take a 51-48 lead. Jason McBride scored on consecutive possessions to put the Knights back in front. Byrd brought the Spartans back with another 3-pointer to tie the game at 51-51.

UCF closed out the game with a 14-3 run over the final 4:20 of the game. The Spartans connected on just one of their last six shots from the field while the Knights hit six out of their last seven shots. Davis scored five points in the run while Adonys Henriquez added five points in the game-deciding run.

-UNCG-