LUBBOCK, Texas – The UCF men’s basketball team started celebrating the new year early by launching fireworks of its own before the stroke of midnight in its Big 12 Conference opener, topping Texas Tech 87-83 thanks to a second-consecutive game shooting greater than 50% from the field. Keyshawn Hall was a perfect seven-for-seven from the floor in the first half, dropping 17 points while Darius Johnson had 17 of his own in the second to power the Knights to a New Year’s Eve victory on the road.
“It was a hard-fought win. They’re all well earned in the Big 12. I thought our guys did a good job of understanding what we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win. Really proud of our guys, they really came ready to play tonight. They were well prepared, as was Texas Tech; we beat a good team tonight.”
Johnny Dawkins“I was just staying aggressive outside because I didn’t want to make my game one dimensional. I know I can get downhill so I was just trying to stay confident in my jump shot through the whole like I’ve done this whole season. The coaches and everybody have been giving me confidence in practice to shoot it, so I’ve been getting in the gym extra and just shooting it, so when guys back up, I let it rip.”
Keyshawn Hall
Texas Tech opened the scoring with two buckets in its first two trips down the floor. The pair of quick scores wound up being the Red Raiders’ largest lead of the game just 68 seconds into the contest. UCF’s first points game on a couple of Johnson free throws at the 17:45 mark. Hall got going with a defensive rebound and a jumper and also scored on the Knights next trip down the floor, locking the score at 6-6. Dallan ‘Deebo’ Coleman earned a steal and got his first points of the tilt 4:30 into it, putting UCF in front. Another Hall layup followed by a Coleman three-pointer gave the Knights an early seven-point edge at 13-6 with 14:17 remaining.
The Red Raiders jumped in front briefly with an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds or so, but proved to be their final lead of the contest at 14-13. Moustapha Thiam banged home a three-pointer to get the Black and Gold back in front, his first of two made triples on three total attempts from deep on the afternoon, doubling his season total of made threes.
The first half lead didn’t move north of six points until there were six minutes left in the opening frame as UCF pulled out to a 36-29 lead. Texas Tech continued to make shots in its own offensive end to the tune of a 44.4% clip to keep the game close as the Knights carried a 47-41 lead into the break.
UCF surrendered the first basket of the second half, but from there, it was nearly all Knights for the next five minutes. Thiam fought his way to the rim for a tip-in prior to a Hall three-pointer to put the Black and Gold up nine at 54-45. After a Texas Tech make to draw back within seven, Jordan Ivy-Curry nailed a step back jumper followed by a layup and three pointer from Thiam. Johnson drove the lane for a tough layup and put the Knights in front by 16 at 61-45.
The Knights continued to hold a double-digit lead, eventually reaching a game-best 18-point edge with 10:06 remaining with a trio of Ivy-Curry free throws, making it 71-53. Texas Tech responded with its best run of the game, putting up 11 straight points to whittle the lead to seven with 7:30 to play. The Red Raiders refused to go away, trimming the lead to six at 79-73 heading into the final media timeout.
“We were trying to find ways to manufacture points, especially when they were making their runs, we tried to find ways to put guys in position to be successful. Ultimately, players have to make plays, and I thought whether it was Keyshawn or Darius, I thought those guys made the plays that were in front of them at the time, and that’s all you can ask. First half, I thought Keyshawn really set the tone for us and helped us get going and in the second half, Darius really started putting his foot on the pedal a little bit more.”
Johnny DawkinsJohnson was clutch down the stretch, burying a three-pointer from way downtown out of the media timeout to extend the lead back to nine. Texas Tech answered with two makes, but again Johnson had an answer, earning a pair of points in the paint to make it 84-78 with 2:30 on the clock. After missing the front end of a pair of free throws, Tech’s JT Toppin, who finished the contest with a game-high 26 points, earned another pair for his team to cut UCF’s lead to a single possession at 84-81 with 75 seconds to play.
Toppin again tried to carry his team back to a lead, scoring off a UCF turnover to make it a one-point game with 37 ticks of the clock left. Johnson was fouled bringing the ball up the floor on the ensuing possession with 19 seconds left and cashed in on his two free throws. The Red Raiders came up empty on their next possession as a missed three pointer to tie the contest went wide and eventually out of play, giving the Knights possession with eight seconds remaining. Johnson again was fouled and made one-of-two from the charity stripe to give UCF the 87-83 edge. Texas Tech’s final heave was off as the Black and Gold secured the road victory and a 1-0 start to league play.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of understanding those big moments, guys were stepping up and making plays. We have some experienced guys on our roster and they played composed, so when the lead was getting cut or it was a one possession game, that’s when their poise showed.”
Johnny Dawkins