After transferring from Ball State, guard Jaylin Sellers is quickly making a name for himself at UCF.
Sellers sits among the nation’s top scorers two games into the season, and he will look to keep climbing the ranks Thursday night when the Knights face Cal State Fullerton in Orlando, Fla.
UCF (1-1) is coming off last Friday’s 88-72 loss to then-No. 13 Miami, but the setback didn’t fall on Sellers, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds.
That performance followed a 23-point outing in the season opener, and with 22.5 points per game, Sellers is tied for 21st in the country in scoring average.
It’s exactly what Knights coach Johnny Dawkins expected from Sellers, who is already being relied upon heavily to fuel the offense.
“We’re counting on (Jaylin) to do that,” Dawkins said. “He’s a guy we brought in here to be one of our scorers and he’s living up to that thus far.”
The Titans (1-1) will have some defensive momentum as they try to contain Sellers after holding NAIA program La Sierra to 29.6 percent shooting from the field in a 78-48 blowout victory Saturday.
Cal State Fullerton could be even harder to score against Thursday if reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year Tory San Antonio suits up. San Antonio missed the Titans’ first two games because of a preseason foot injury and is currently listed as day-to-day.
“That’s something that he doesn’t take lightly,” CSUF coach Dedrique Taylor said last month of San Antonio being recognized for his defense. “It’s something that he actually hangs his hat on — being a grinder, being a guy that does all the dirty work.”
Max Jones has headlined Cal State Fullerton’s offensive attack in the early going, averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game.
Thursday marks the second all-time meeting between the teams. UCF beat the Titans 68-52 back on Nov. 15, 2018, at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
–Field Level Media