ORLANDO, Fla. – Playing without its leading scorer, the Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team found itself on the short end of a 70-65 game against Central Florida Monday at CFE Arena.

Southeastern (3-9), which is without the services of the injured Zay Jackson on its current road trip, brought the game down to the wire against the Knights (7-4).

Senior Cedric Jenkins stepped up his game in Jackson's absence, pouring in a season-high 22 points and tying a career best.

"We're not going to make excuses," head coach Jay Ladner said. "Where Zay's absence hurt is that he's our point guard. That allowed them to totally focus on Joshua Filmore. He's really developed into an outstanding player, turning into one of the better sophomore's in the Southland. Injuries are part of the game of basketball, it's a long season. We hope to get him back, but this is helping us develop depth as the season goes on."

UCF pushed their lead to as much as 13 with 6:51 remaining, but the Lions refused to go away. Filmore scored six points in a span of 27 seconds to pull Southeastern back.

The Orlando native laid the ball in at the 6:08 mark and finished it off with a free throw. After the Knights missed a lay up at the other end of the floor, Filmore hit a three on the ensuing possession.

Joining Jenkins in double digits was Filmore. The Wekiva High School product chipped in 17 while running the point and playing all 40 minutes for the Lions. Andrew Guillory grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and Southeastern out-rebounded the Knights, 46-39.

The Lions shot 40 percent overall (26-of-65), including 33.3 percent from three-point range (8-of-24). Southeastern converted 5-of-10 (50 percent) from the free throw line.

UCF had four players score in double digits, including B.J. Taylor (15), Adonys Henriquez (13), Brandon Goodwin (13) and Daiquan Walker (11). Walker handed out a game-high seven assists.

The Knight shot 41.5 percent overall (27-of-65), 43.5 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-23) and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the charity stripe.

Southeastern turns right around and travels to Tampa, Florida, to face the University of South Florida (5-6) Tuesday at noon in the Sun Dome.

The game will be carried on ESPN3. It can also be heard in the Hammond, Louisiana, area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone app. Live statistics are also available. Links for audio, stats and video can be found on the basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.


UCF 70, SOUTHEASTERN LA. 65

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (3-9)
Jenkins, Cedric 7-17 2-2 20; Filmore, Joshua 7-20 1-2 17; Upson, DeVonte 4-8 2-4 10; Grieves, Daniel 3-8 0-0 8; Ochie, Onochie 2-5 0-2 4; Guillory, Andrew 2-4 0-0 4; Maggio, Dylon 1-1 0-0 2; Barclay, Bret 0-1 0-0 0; Rumph, Zach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 5-10 65.

UCF (7-4)
Taylor, B.J. 6-13 0-0 15; Henriquez, Adonys 4-9 2-3 13; Goodwin, Brandon 4-7 4-8 13; Walker, Daiquan 5-10 0-0 11; Davis, Shaheed 3-9 0-0 6; Wilson, Kasey 2-6 0-0 6; Blair, Staphon 2-4 0-0 4; McBride, Justin 1-4 0-0 2; Davis, Myles 0-0 0-0 0; Karell, Dylan 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 27-65 6-13 70.

Southeastern La......... 29 36 - 65
UCF............................ 33 37 - 70

3-point goals--Southeastern La. 8-24 (Jenkins, Cedric 4-10; Filmore, Joshua 2-9; Grieves, Daniel 2-5), UCF 10-23 (Taylor, B.J. 3-6; Henriquez, Adonys 3-6; Wilson, Kasey 2-3; Walker, Daiquan 1-5; Goodwin, Brandon 1-1; Davis, Shaheed 0-2). Fouled out--Southeastern La.-None, UCF-None. Rebounds--Southeastern La. 46 (Guillory, Andrew 10), UCF 39 (Karell, Dylan 8). Assists--Southeastern La. 13 (Guillory, Andrew 4), UCF 17 (Walker, Daiquan 7). Total fouls--Southeastern La. 12, UCF 9. Technical fouls--Southeastern La.-None, UCF-None. A-3389