March 25 (UPI) -- The University of Center Florida posted a postgame video from its locker room, following its exit from the NCAA tournament, showing the team's heartbreak.
Duke eliminated the Knights from the tournament with a 77-76 win in the second round Sunday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The Facebook and Twitter video showed Knights coach Johnny Dawkins giving his post-game speech, while players cried in the background and Dawkins held back tears.
"I'm really proud of what you did this year, not just tonight," Dawkins said. "You represented our program, you represented our university. I couldn't be more proud of how you handled yourself on and off the court. You guys have been terrific. It's going to end two ways when we invest like we invest: you are going to end celebrating or you end in tears. We ended in tears. That's because we invested so much in each other and so much in what we were doing."
"Like I told you guys before: I love you guys. It has been amazing coaching this group. For us, we have a lot of good memories. We accomplished a lot of amazing things this year."
The Knights led the Blue Devils 76-73 with 45 seconds remaining before Duke star Zion Williamson drove to the rim for a lay-up while picking up a foul. R.J. Barrett rebounded Williamson's missed free throw and scored, giving Duke a one-point advantage.
UCF's B.J. Taylor missed a jump shot on the other end of the floor, but Aubrey Dawkins flew in for an offensive rebound. Dawkins' put-back attempt rolled around the inside of the rim, before failing to fall in at the buzzer, giving Duke a dramatic victory.
Dawkins scored 32 points -- matching Williamson -- to lead the Knights. The coach's son also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals in the loss.
"Couldn't be more proud of what these guys showed out there tonight and every step of the way these last three years," coach Dawkins tweeted Sunday.
"Thank you to our seniors for helping to build this thing and I'm glad you were able to leave your legacy here at UCF. Go Knights."
