Hendricks, Young lead UCF past Seminoles, 68-54
ORLANDO - Jayhlon Young scored 17 points to lead three UCF players in double figures, and the Knights defeated Florida State, 68-54, at the Addition Financial Arena Friday.
FSU is off to an 0-2 start for the first time under head coach Leonard Hamilton.
FSU went 22-of-56 (39.3%) from the floor, 6-of-19 (31.6%) from the perimeter and 4-of-7 (57.1%) at the free throw line. The Seminoles trailed by as many as 17 points late in the game.
Taylor Hendricks (15 points) and Ithiel Horton (14 points) were all in double figure scoring as UCF won its first game of the season.
Florida State guard Darin Green Jr., who played the first three seasons on his career at UCF, scored a team-high 17 points against his former team.
Green made seven of 14 field goal attempts, including a game-high three 3-point shots in his second game as a Seminole.
Freshman Camron Corhen scored a career-high 12 points for the Seminoles and Cam’ron Fletcher led the team for the second game in a row with six rebounds, along with scoring 11 points of his own.
Young and Hendricks combined for a 32 point total against the Seminoles, with Young scoring 15 of those points in the first half alone. Hendricks contributed 12 rebounds for the Knights, along with a six for 13 (.461) shooting percentage from the field.
Although the Knights led 29-39 at halftime, the Seminoles had an impressive .460 (12-26) shooting percentage from the field, compared to UCF’s .380 (13-34).
Free throws accounted for a major part of UCF’s win against the Seminoles, shooting .800 (8-10) from the free throw line, accompanied by a .450 (5-11) three-point field goal percentage.
Corhen led the Seminoles in points in the second half, shooting three for four (.750) in the paint and two for three (.667) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Jalen Warley contributed to Florida State with four assists and Darin Green, Jr. added his own seven points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3FG) to the halftime score.
The Seminoles struggled to score with only three-minutes remaining in the game. While Florida State made only one of their last nine field goals to end Friday night’s game, UCF managed to make four of their last five.
It was the second defeat this week for Florida State, which opened with an 83-74 loss to Stetson. UCF lost its opener to UNC Asheville.
SHORT HANDED
FSU was again without guards Chandler Jackson (thumb) and Jeremiah Bembry (back), forwards De'Ante Green (knee) and Baba Miller (suspension), as well as center Jaylan Gainey (knee).
FSU starting center Naheem McLeod injured his foot/ankle area with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. He did not return to the game.
UP NEXT
Florida State returns to the Donald L. Tucker Center for their second home game of the season on Monday against Troy University in a game that will tip off at 7pm.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State men's basketball off to 0-2 start, tumbles 68-54 at UCF
