UCF coach Johnny Dawkins has his team off to its best start since 2016-17, and the Knights will look to notch their seventh straight victory Saturday afternoon when they face the Towson Tigers in Orlando, Fla.
In his 10th season at the Orlando school, Dawkins registered his 175th win last weekend when his squad throttled visiting VMI, 82-57.
As is its identity, UCF (7-1) relied on strong defense and board work to hammer the Keydets.
“I know we’ve been able to shoot the ball, but (defense and rebounding) has been our identity,” said Dawkins, whose group has outrebounded the opposition in all but one game. “You have to find ways to win, and the way you can do that most consistently is to guard.”
Jamichael Stillwell led with his third double-double, collecting 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 14 rebounds. He added five assists and three steals in his 29 minutes.
The effort earned the 6-foot-8 Atlanta senior a Big 12 Starting Five honor. The award recognizes five standout players in the league each week.
“I was just very aggressive on the boards,” said Stillwell, who posted 10 of his 14 boards on the offensive end. “I saw our shots weren’t falling today, so I just needed to be in the spot … and I saw we could get some second-chance points.”
Riley Kugel, who was named MVP of the Legends Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. last month, leads with 15.5 points per game for UCF, which scores 88.3 per contest.
The Tigers (6-3) beat Cornell 93-80 Wednesday in their last outing to win for the third time in the past four games, making half of their 22 deep shots.
Tyler Tejada scored 26 points, draining 6 of 10 from long distance, pulled down eight rebounds and added three assists.
The Colonial Athletic Association school held a 38-25 advantage on the glass, a priority for Towson coach Pat Skerry and his staff.
“That’s what we do, right?” Skerry said. “That’s got to be our identity. That’s got to be a constant every night.”
Skerry said he has received calls from NBA scouts on Tejada (19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds) and Dylan Williamson (15.8 points, 3.4 assists), the latter for his ability to distribute the ball.
“The biggest compliment I gave them on Tejada is he’s an anti-liability defensively. He’s committed on that end,” Skerry said of the 6-foot-9 Teaneck, N.J., product.
