PHILADELPHIA — There was no buzzer-beater, no bracket-buster or March Madness miracle.
Nothing that will steal away from this year’s “One Shining Moment” montage.
It wasn’t for the lack of trying as UCF stormed back from 14 points down to pull within three points with six seconds left, before eventually losing to UCLA, 75-71, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday.
“UCLA is a very talented, well-coached team, but they did a good job, especially in the first half, of kind of establishing their tempo,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Our guys did a really good job of fighting and putting ourselves in position to come back, but at the end of the day, they made the plays they needed to make and that’s what March Madness is about.”
UCF (21-12, 9-9 Big 12) finished the season by losing five of its last six games.
Forward Jordan Burks broke out of a shooting slump to lead the Knights with 22 points, connecting on six 3-pointers in 32 minutes. Guard Riley Kugel added 13 points with five rebounds while forward Jamichal Stillwell had 10 points and 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.
“We just came up short, but I thought we had a good group and we made a platform for years to come to show (future players) what it takes and what we (UCF) need to do more,” said Burks.
UCLA (24-11, 13-7 Big Ten) was without its top scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, who missed the game with a right knee injury, but Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points.
Poor shooting once again put UCF in a hole early as the Knights shot just 35.7% in the first half, including 33% from 3-point range. Even more disturbing was the team’s struggles from the free-throw line.
While the Knights made 74% of their free throws this season, the team shot a season-low 31% (5 of 16) against the Bruins.
UCF was relentless on defense to open the game, forcing UCLA into poor shot selection as the Bruins missed their first seven shots from the floor. The Knights, meanwhile, pulled out to a quick 6-0 lead.
The Bruins went on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game, 13-10, as Daily Jr. powered the Bruins with eight early points. UCLA extended that advantage to 18-12 as UCF turned the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes.
The Knights finished with 17 turnovers in the game, the second-most this season.
“[Coach Dawkins] wants no more than 10 turnovers in a game and we started with 11 turnovers in the first half, so it’s kind of hard to come back from that,” said senior forward Devan Cambridge.
To make matters worse, the Knights went ice cold from the floor, failing to score a point for more than four and a half minutes midway through the first half.
UCF guard Riley Kugel goes up for a shot during the first half against UCLA in the first round game in the NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
UCLA didn’t waste the opportunity, pushing its lead to 24-12 with 8:50 left in the first.
It was the fourth consecutive game in which UCF fell behind by double-digits.
UCF’s long-distance shooting woes from the Big 12 tournament followed them into the NCAA Tournament. The Knights connected on just 13% (6-of-45) from 3-point range in the conference tourney and started out connecting on just 20% (2 of 10).
Burks snapped a 0-for-13 streak from beyond the arc when the junior connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner to cut the UCLA lead to 26-16. For Burks, who was a 36% shooter from 3-point range, it was his first in the past four games.
Things were so bad at one point that when Knights’ center John Bol rebounded a missed 3-point attempt by UCLA’s Xavier Booker, he tipped it into the Bruins’ basket by mistake.
Despite the dismal first half, UCF pulled within single digits of UCLA’s lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Cambridge and Carmelo Pacheco to pull within single digits at the half: 35-27.
UCLA pushed its advantage to as many as 14 points in the second half, but UCF chipped away thanks to a full-court press that forced back-to-back turnovers from the Bruins as the Knights pulled within 46-43 with 14:00 left.
The Bruins, however, wouldn’t back down, going on an 8-0 run to push their advantage back to double-digits at 54-44.
Yet, UCF continued to fight back, inching closer to 74-71 with six seconds left before UCLA sealed the win with a Skyy Clark free throw.
UCF drops to 1-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances, with the only win coming against VCU in the 2018-19 season.
“We brought it every day in practice, so it’s tough when you get a brand new team with 14 guys, it’s tough,” said UCF guard Themus Fulks, who finished with 10 points and eight assists. “We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we worked together and we had fun.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.