ORLANDO—Senior Brandon Mahan knocked down three key three-pointers to fuel a UCF run early in the second half, as the Knights broke impressively from a halftime tie and held on late for a 75-70 victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Cincinnati.
The triumph for UCF (3-1 overall, 1-0 AAC) opened the American Athletic Conference schedule for the Knights while handing the Bearcats (2-5, 0-2) their fourth consecutive defeat.
The trio of Mahan (game-high 25 points, team-high 10 rebounds), freshman Isaiah Adams (15 points, 13 in the second half) and sophomore Darin Green Jr. (12 points) combined for 52 of the Knights' points Tuesday night after those three had 74 Saturday in the victory over number-15 Florida State.
"I liked our poise at the end of the game," said Knight head coach Johnny Dawkins. "They were going to make a run and they made their run. We needed guys to step up and make big plays and several guys did that for us. You have to have that type of composure at the end of a ballgame. We've been growing up some."
Dawkins' crew shot at a 53.6 percent clip (15 of 28) from the floor after intermission, while limiting the Bearcats to 41.1 during those final 20 minutes. The Knights notched 26 points overall off turnovers, compared to seven for the visitors.
UCF built its largest lead at 60-47 after the third of Mahan's second-half treys. But the Bearcats closed the gap to 71-70 with 1:04 left before the home team finished it out with the help of a Mahan hoop with 24 seconds remaining and two free throws by Dre Fuller Jr. at :11.6.
The Knights led 70-60 with 3:47 remaining before Cincinnati went on a 10-1 run.
"Cincinnati came back with some determination and we have to match that. We're still trying to find out who we are, what our roles are," said Dawkins. "They had more of a sense of urgency down the stretch, and we have to be better during that time."
UCF scored the last five points of the first half—and the first five of the second to go from five points down to five up at 40-35.
"We just stayed in it," said Green. "We did not give up. We fought for 40 minutes. We just wanted it more when it came down to it at the end.
"And it's fun to watch Brandon do his thing when he gets going."
The first half ended in a 35-35 tie, as the visiting Bearcats survived 15 turnovers and 15 fouls (UCF was in the double bonus at the 8:40 mark) while also building a 23-11 rebounding advantage.
There were five technical fouls called in the opening half—including two double technicals. Two Cincinnati starters—Chris Vogt and Tari Eason (he eventually fouled out after playing less than 10 minutes)--missed substantial first-half time after committing three fouls each in only seven minutes of play apiece. Williams led the Bearcats with 10 points in the first 20 minutes, though he played only 10 minutes after acquiring a pair of fouls.
The Knights' largest lead in the opening half was at 5-1 after four early Cincinnati turnovers in a three-minute span. But the Bearcats went on an 11-0 run to grab their biggest advantage of the game at 12-5 at the 14:48 stoppage.
UCF fought back to lead 21-20 on a Mahan three, but Cincinnati again ran out to a five-point advantage before a Sean Mobley bucket at the 22-second mark tied the contest.
Mahan, coming off his 32-point performance against Florida State Saturday night, had a dozen points and five rebounds in the first half. After connecting on his first 21 free throws this season, he finally missed one at 2:57 of that opening half.
UCF came into the game leading the nation in free-throw shooting with its .857 figure—then the Knights connected on just 14 of 24 versus the Bearcats.
Senior Keith Williams, the lone Cincinnati player averaging in double figures, led his team with 19 points—but the home team limited him to six-of-17 shooting. Zach Harvey had 15 points in 23 minutes of action for the Bearcats, who finished with a 41-27 edge on the boards.
The Knights return to action at 2 p.m. Saturday at Addition Financial Arena against sixth-rated Houston.
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