ORLANDO, Fla.—The South Carolina State men's basketball team is set to close out non-conference play Thursday (Dec. 21
st), when they battle host UCF Knights at 7 p.m. at the CFE Arena.
GAME CENTRAL:
Date: Thursday, Dec. 21
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Radio: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game
Watch Live: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3197474/south-carolina-state-vs-ucf-m-basketball
Live Stats: http://ucfknights.co/MBBLiveStats1718
Listen Live: https://www.iheart.com/live/969-the-game-601/?autoplay=true&pname=15400&campid=header&cid=index.html
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs won the only other meeting between the two teams, defeating UCF 71-70 in an in-season tournament in Greenville, S.C. back in 1999.
LAST TIMEOUT: The Bulldogs are coming off a tough 80-64 defeat to College of Charleston on Tuesday. SC State have won three of the last five contest. The Bulldogs were led by Donte Wright with 12 points in the loss.
Meanwhile, the Knights are riding a four-game win streak and recently posted a 74-55 win over Stetson Tuesday. UCF was led by Tacko Fall, the 7-foot-6 center had 18 points and 11 rebounds in just 16 minutes, recording his second double-double in as many games.
NOTES TO KNOW
*The Bulldogs are led by Donte Wright with 15.0 ppg, while sophomore forward Damani Applewhite is the leader on the boards with 6.5 and 11.2 points per outing.
*South Carolina State averages 71.4 points per contest, along with 34 boards per contest.
*Senior guard James "JJ" Richardson was named the MEAC Co-Player of the Week. He averaged 20.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, three steals and two blocks and shot 51.7 percent from the field and 70 percent from the charity stripe. Against Charleston Southern, Richardson scored 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting with four steals and two blocks.
*UCF has three players in double-figures with Tacko Fall leading the way with 12.9 points and 7.4 rebounds. B.J Taylor is second with 12.0 ppg and A. J Davis is the leader on the boards with 9.7 rebounds and 10.6 points per contest.
*The Knights are 8-3 on the season and looks to extend its winning streak to five straight against the Bulldogs.
*UCF averages about 65.6 points per contest, along with 39.6 rebounds per game.
South Carolina State will close out the Holiday season and will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018 on the road against Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.
