ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Markus Kennedy had 15 points and eight rebounds and Southern Methodist used a second-half run to defeat Central Florida 58-46 on Saturday.
Southern Methodist (13-4, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) used a 19-5 run in the second half that produced a 54-39 lead with just under 2 minutes left in the game. The SMU defense held UCF (9-7, 1-4) without a field goal for more than 10 minutes.
Tristan Spurlock was the only UCF player to reach double figures, scoring 11 points. The Knights, who lost their third straight game, got nine points from Daiquan Walker.
Nic Moore scored 11 points for the Mustangs.
After Staphon Blair’s layup cut UCF’s deficit to 35-34, the Knights committed five turnovers and missed 10 straight shots. Their only points came on free throws from Blair, Spurlock and Kasey Wilson.
The Knights never got closer than 11 the rest of the game.
