ORLANDO – Grant Riller scored a team-high 20 points as the College of Charleston was edged 72-71 in the final seconds at UCF on Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.
 
The Cougars (3-2) started off the game on a 10-2 run and shot a season-high 48.3 percent from the floor including a 53.6 percent accuracy in the first half. They led by as many as 13 within the first six minutes of the contest.
 
The Knights (3-1) chipped away at that lead and tied up the ballgame at 35-35, before a pull-up jumper by Riller to give Charleston a one-point lead, 37-36, at halftime.
 
For UCF, Collin Smith led all scorers with a career-high 23 points including two free throws with 22 seconds left. He hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe as the Knights attempted 26 to CofC's 12 attempts.
 
In the second half of play, the game was tied at 68-68 until Brevin Galloway made a 3-pointer to push Charleston ahead with 2:44 remaining. UCF went on a run and closed the gap over the next two minutes.
 
Galloway would end the night with 14 points, while Dazon Ingram and Dre Fuller Jr. each had 11 for UCF.
 
CofC will travel to Southern California over the Thanksgiving holiday break for the Paycom Wooden Legacy and will open the tournament with Wake Forest in the opening round on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) / 1:30 p.m. (PT) in Anaheim, Calif. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNews.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• College of Charleston used the starting lineup of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Osinachi Smart (3-2).
• UCF has now won three-straight and claimed only its sixth all-time victory versus the College of Charleston in the all-time series (12-6).
• Grant Riller extended his double-digit streak to 33-consecutive games with a team-high 20 points and seven assists at UCF. He moved into fourth all-time on the school's career scoring list surpassing former CofC great Greg Mack (1,901 career points from 1981-85). Riller has now tabulated 1,903 career points to date.
• For the second-straight game, Brevin Galloway reached double figures and registered 14 points including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc versus UCF.
• The Cougars shot 48.3 percent from the field (28-of-58) against the Knights – their second-highest percentage in a single game this season.
• CofC shot a season-best 41.2 percent from beyond the arc making 7-of-17 attempts at UCF.
• The Knights scored 18 of their points off of 12 turnovers committed by Charleston.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the road loss …
"Obviously, we had great opportunities coming down the stretch to execute and get a big stop. I thought we did that. But, it came down to a play here or a play there. We had big turnover with an opportunity for a layup and we had a miscommunication with two players. It's painful to be in that situation when you are making stops and making plays. I told the guys I can't question their effort. We have to learn from this and continue to build."
 
On the team's shooting from the field and beyond the arc …
"I thought the guys were ready to play. They knew it was an opportunity for us. We came in with great energy. Central Florida is a good team. They got some guys who made some big shots. They got to the free throw line 26 times which is a lot. I thought that was a huge difference in the game. We only went to the line 12. We have to learn from it. It was disappointing, but there will be other opportunities."