UCF Holds Off West Virginia 72-59 in Orlando

UCF held off a late comeback attempt by West Virginia, closing the game 72-59. The Mountaineers went on a 17-7 run towards the end of the game but the deficit was too much to come back from.

WVU (7-12, 2-4 Big 12) came off an upset win over then-No. 3 Kansas but couldn’t take that momentum into Tuesday night.

UCF (12-6, 3-3 Big 12) took full advantage of the game during the first half by forcing seven Mountaineer turnovers. The Knights led by 18 points at one point during the first frame behind solid defense and good three-point shooting. West Virginia was able to cut the deficit down to 13 behind a pair of threes by Kerr Kriisa and Josiah Harris.

The Knights went into the break with their first halftime lead during conference play.

Mid-way through the second half, WVU G RaeQuan Battle was ejected from the game after picking up a pair of technical fouls. Battle ended his night with five points on 2-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes.

Harris hit a three with five minutes to go in the game. Harris shot the ball very well on Tuesday hitting 5-threes. The sophomore forward recorded 15 points and eight rebounds.

WVU F Pat Suemnick, who has been the difference maker the last few weeks, struggled against the Knights on Tuesday. Suemnick finished with zero points on 0-of-6 shooting while fouling out. Suemnick is coming off of a career night against the Jayhawks where he went toe to toe with Consensus All-American Hunter Dickinson.

WVU C Jesse Edwards was dressed for the second straight game but did not participate in the game. Edwards has been out of action since Dec. 16 with a fractured right wrist. Edwards had his brace removed last week and has slowly been getting acclimated into basketball activity again.

With the loss, West Virginia moves to 0-7 in games away from the WVU Coliseum this season.

West Virginia will shift focus to Oklahoma State as the Mountaineers travel to Stillwater, Ok. on Saturday afternoon. WVU and OSU will tip off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.