ORLANDO, Fla. – Jacksonville University men's basketball could not overcome a whole host of adversity in the opening few minutes of the game, falling 94-52 to UCF at Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday night.
 
The Dolphins (6-3) had their four-game winning streak snapped with the loss.
 
The evening got off to a tough start, with a handful of missed shots and turnovers for both teams before the Knights got on the board with a pair of offensive rebound putbacks. Robert McCray V was called for two fouls within eight seconds of game time and went to the bench and Bryce Workman hit the ground hard challenging a dunk attempt at the rim and exited the game as well, all just 3:01 into the contest.
 
It was 8-0 UCF before Jarius Cook made a pair of free throws with 15:23 to play in the first, and the Dolphins' first field goal did not come until McCray, back in the ballgame with two fouls, hit a pull-up free-throw line jumper at the 11:39 mark of the first half to make it 19-4. At the half, UCF led 40-18.
 
The second half started with Stephon Payne III getting a layup, assisted by a defensive goaltending call, and Gyasi Powell buried a three-pointer before McCray scored after an offensive rebound and was fouled for a three-point play, making it 61-28 just over four minutes into the half.
 
With 9:32 remaining, Tito Deng banked in a three-pointer to beat the shot clock, and after a quick miss by the Knights, Marcus Niblack swished home a three from the right wing, prompting a UCF timeout after the 6-0 cut it to 72-38. Less than three minutes later, another quick 5-0 run featured a stepback free-throw line jumper for Powell, a steal by Jalen Griffith, who fed Josaih Sabino for a transition layup and Deng going 1-2 at the free throw line, which got it to 75-43 with 5:37 left.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville completes the three-game road trip, heading to South Carolina State for a 7 p.m. battle on Monday.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
 

• Josiah Sabino set a new career-high with six rebounds, and tied his career-best with two steals
• Robert McCray V scored in double-figures for eighth game this season
• Donovan Rivers matched his career-high with two steals