Three Key Takeaways From UCF Hoops' Road Upset Over Texas A&M

The UCF Knights Men's Basketball team came back from 14 points down in the second half to upset Texas A&M in College Station, 86-74.

The win secures the Knights' lead in the series between the two programs, who met for the first time in last season's opener, which UCF won, 64-61.

Here are three key takeaways from UCF's first road win:

1. Streaky Shooting

This issue has plagued the Knights quite a bit in the three games leading up to this one, but Friday night was its most egregious example.

When it came to shooting from the floor, UCF missed five consecutive shots on three separate occasions. Two of them were even separated by one converted basket, so between 14:30 and 6:30 left in the first half, the Knights went 1-11 from the floor. Fortunately for them, the Aggies also experienced such shooting droughts in the first half, which led to a tie game at the halftime break.

Later, thanks to the third occasion of five consecutive shots, the Knights found themselves down by 14, their largest deficit of the day. They proceeded to then make 13 of their last 18 shots from the floor, six of them from three-point range, and end their night by sinking their last seven shots to go from being tied, 63-63, to winning by 12 points.

So, while UCF is vulnerable to digging itself into some holes, Friday night proved that, especially in a hostile environment, it could dig itself back out again.

2. More than Kugel

For the first time this season, guard Riley Kugel was not immune to UCF's shooting struggles, going 1-5 in the first half in College Station. However, while he would bounce back in the second half to go 4-7 and get eight points, he did not take a three-point shot or free throw the entire time. Friday night was a time for other Knights to step up.

Forward Jordan Burks stands out, getting 18 points in the second half alone, more than double any of his teammates' totals, thanks to finding the basket all eight times he shot the ball. That's going 6-6 from the floor, with four of those shots coming from beyond the arc, and going 2-2 from the charity stripe.

However, he was also backed up by guard Carmelo Pacheco, who was once again a three-point threat coming off the bench for the Knights. Exclusively shooting from three-point land, the Mount St. Mary's transfer went 5-6 Friday night, with his three buckets in the second half all coming as part of a one-man 9-0 run late in the game to give UCF a cushion against the Aggies.

Forward Devan Cambridge may have said Kugel was the Knights' go-to guy. However, he also said, "whatever their game plan is, defensively, whoever the open guy is, like, that's who it's gonna be. It's gonna be their night."

On Friday night, despite it not being Kugel's night, it was Burks and Pacheco's night, and that was enough to bring back the win.

3. The Puppy Found His Bark

Sophomore center John Bol once again found himself in the starting lineup. However, despite logging his longest time on the court so far this season at 15 minutes, it was still not as much compared to his fellow starting five, though this time he had to contend with being in foul trouble.

Nonetheless, Bol still took advantage of his limited playing time. He was actually the Knights' leading scorer in the first half, despite playing only six minutes of it, with seven points. He shot 2-2 from the floor and 3-3 from the free-throw line, his efforts helping UCF pull even with the Aggies at the break.

The Ole Miss transfer also factored in on defense, picking up a block and two steals.

Coach Johnny Dawkins may have said after the Florida A&M game that Bol was a "puppy," as in "not a full-grown dog yet," but the 7-foot-2 center put together a promising performance in a hostile environment.

The Knights return to Addition Financial Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. to host Oakland.

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