Sylla and Sellers combine for 36 points in UCF’s rout of Jacksonville
Thierno Sylla had career highs with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylin Sellers scored 16 points and UCF rolled to a 94-52 home victory over Jacksonville on Wednesday night.
Sylla was 7-of-11 shooting from the field and Sellers made 4 of 10 shots. The pair combined for five of the Knights’ 15 3-pointers and nine of their 17 free throws.
Marchelus Avery added 12 points for UCF (6-2). Avery’s 3-pointer with 10:17 to play stretched the Knights’ lead to 40 points.
UCF opened on a 19-2 run and led 48-18 at the break.
“I think it’s probably the fastest start we’ve gotten off to in a game this season,” coach Johnny Dawkins said. “I thought due to our guys being locked in defensively, we turned that into some good offense. We beat a good Jacksonville team. We came out ready and I’m proud of our guys’ overall effort for 40 minutes.”
Sellers and Sylla combined for 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Sellers made three from long range and Sylla grabbed 8 rebounds.
UCF also forced 19 turnovers in the game, and Sylla had two of its 8 blocks. The Knights entered averaging 5.3 block per game.
Behind UCF’s highest-scoring first half since its 96-52 win over Tulsa on Feb. 11, the Knights recorded a season-high 94 points, representing their overall highest-scoring contest since their 44-point victory over the Golden Hurricane.
The team also improved to 35-11 in the month of December under Dawkins, with the month representing the coach’s career best by win percentage since taking the reins prior to the 2016 season.
UCF entered the contest averaging 71.3 points per game in the month of December with Dawkins while holding foes to just 61.9 points per game, a near double-digit margin of 9.4 points per contest.
“We picked up more in the full-court; we pressed a little more,” Dawkins said. “Our guys were really engaged and got out there right from the tip. They were working and forced 14 turnovers, so we were doing a good job turning our defense into offense.”
Robert McCray V scored 12 points and Marcus Niblack had 9 for Jacksonville (6-3), which had its four-game win streak end.
UCF and Jacksonville were conference mates in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1998-2005. The Knights lead the all-time series 14-12, including winning the last three meetings.
UCF also claimed its 14th win over Jacksonville in the teams’ last 20 meetings as well as its third straight win against the Dolphins dating to Dec. 17, 2013.
The Knights now face perhaps their biggest test of the young season when UCF welcomes Ole Miss (8-0) to Orlando for a 4 p.m. Sunday game for the fifth all-time meeting between the programs. The Knights met the Rebels last year as well, topping Ole Miss 72-61 on the road.