ORLANDO - The UCF men's basketball team overcame an onslaught of three-pointers by Prairie View A&M in the second half and a five-point deficit to win, 73-69 Saturday in the 2019-20 season opener.
"We beat a very good basketball team, they have a really good tradition," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. "Last year they were an NCAA Tournament team. They returned a number of those players from that team and they have a terrific coach."
In the first half the Knights (1-0) got hot over a span of six minutes and 20 seconds and went on a 16-3 run to take a commanding 13 point lead early in the game.
In the middle of the run, Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia had a huge block which led to a Brandon Mahan three to put the Knights up, 17-8. The run was led by Mahan who had eight of the 16 points, including two three-pointers.
UCF's defense was outstanding, holding PVAMU (1-1) to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half and forcing 12 turnovers.
The second half was much different, as the Panthers came out on fire and picked away at the Knights' nine point lead.
By the 10:51 mark, the Knights had their first deficit since being down one with just five seconds into the game.
Down as much as five in the second half, UCF's defense locked down PVAMU's offense for minutes at a time in order to get back in the game. The Knights held the Panthers without a made field goal for 6:44 and then minutes later held them without one for 3:05.
The offensive spark was provided by freshman Darin Green Jr. and senior Frank Bertz. Bertz hit a three to give the Knights a one-point lead and one possession later hit another three to give the Knights a four point lead, a lead they never relinquished. Green pitched in hitting a three to extend the lead to five and then going in for a breakaway dunk with 22 seconds left to push the lead to eight.
"I'm really proud of Darin [Green], to throw him in as we were under fire in that second half, down five at one point," Dawkins said. "For him to step up and make some of the plays he made and make some of the shots he made says a lot about him. We have confidence in him."
Bench play was key for the Knights. Led by Mahan, the UCF bench outscored Prairie View A&M's bench 24-12.
"I thought Brandon was terrific," Dawkins said, "I have a lot of confidence in him."
Mahan and Dazon Ingram were terrific in their first games as Knights. The former finished with 12 points, while the latter led UCF with 16 points and seven boards.
Collin Smith and Ceasar DeJesus, a pair of returners for UCF, also finished in double figures. Smith had 14 points and a team-high four assists. DeJesus, totaled 11 points, five rebounds and two three-pointers.
The Knights will be back in action Tuesday night. They will play Miami in Addition Financial Arena at 9 p.m. The game can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.
