ORLANDO – The UCF men’s basketball fell in a tight contest Saturday afternoon as BYU edged the Knights 81-75 in a game that came down to the final few minutes.
“I thought considering we were in foul trouble with Keyshawn sitting out most of that half, I thought we were in a good position. We had a two-point lead and had a chance to have a bigger lead. For us I thought our start to the second half wasn’t very good. We had four turnovers in the first four minutes. It was turnovers that I think really gave them some easier opportunities. We had seven turnovers in the second half, that’s not who we’ve been.”
Johnny DawkinsUCF Men's Basketball Head CoachBYU opened the game by making three of the game’s first four baskets, two of them triples to take an 8-2 lead 3:18 into the game. Keyshawn Hall earned a tough lay in, followed by a fastbreak triple from Darius Johnson, making it just a one-point deficit. BYU answered with a triple, only to be followed by one from UCF as well as Jordan Ivy-Curry got it going.
A dicey tangle in the paint led to Hall being whistled for his second foul of the half. Hall was whistled for a technical foul for arguing the call, leading him to sitting for the remainder of the half with three fouls with 13:26 left.
The Black and Gold used the adversity to pull in front for the first time at 19-16 with 11:26 left in the first, using a 7-0 run to jump ahead. Rokas Jocius earned two tough points before Johnson earned a pair from the charity stripe. Ivy-Curry cashed in with another triple to give UCF the edge.
After a quick 25-24 edge by BYU, UCF pieced together another 6-0 run to jump in front by five with two free throws form Moustapha Thiam and Ivy-Curry, plus a Johnson layup. Another 6-0 run after four BYU points, making it 36-29 with 3:27 to go. UCF was able to hold a six point edge with 35 seconds left in the half, but fouled a BYU shooter from distance. The ball went in and they converted the and-one chance, slicing the Knights advantage to just two at 40-38 heading into halftime.
The offense was flowing through Johnson and Thiam, who each finished the half with double-digit points. Johnson earned a dozen on the scoreboard, the third time this season scoring double-digit points in the first half. Thiam added 10, as the two combined for 22 of UCF’s 40 first half points. Ivy-Curry added eight points of his own. On the flip side, BYU nailed eight three pointers in the first half, the highest UCF has allowed this season in through the first 20 minutes.
BYU came out on fire to start the second half, scoring the first eight points, three of which came thanks to three UCF turnovers in the first 3:38 out of the locker room to take the 46-40 edge. After a timeout, the Black and Gold got it going, the first basket coming from a give and go from Johnson to Thiam got UCF on the board in the first half 4:24 into the second stanza. Thiam added his first triple of the game his next trip down the floor, cutting the deficit to one.
Foul trouble continued for the Knights as Johnson picked up his third and fourth fouls before seven minutes had passed in the game, sending him to the bench with 14:07 left to play. BYU only benefited two points out of the fouls going back up three before Thiam retaliated with his signature baseline jumper, making it 48-47 BYU with 13:07 left.
UCF finally knotted the scoring again at 55-55 thanks to a second chance triple from Ivy-Curry, his third of the contest. A minute later, UCF pulled ahead with a Hall three-ball to give the Knights their first lead since they entered the halftime locker room. BYU erased the edge with a three of their own with 7:34 to play, the 11th Cougars triple of the contest.
Hall was a man on a mission out of the under-eight media timeout. After BYU earned a quick two, Hall took on two defenders, making a deep two late in the shot clock. The Cougars banged home a three pointer on the next trip down the floor, only to be answered by Hall from deep, locking the scoring at 63.
BYU’s 13th three pointer of the evening put them up 68-65 with 4:46 to play. Hall tried to will his team back, sinking a pair of free throws to climb back to within one. The next basket, a BYU layup, was answered with a Hall jumper. BYU again tried to pull away with a three, and
After a missed three by BYU with 2:03 to play, the Cougars collected the rebound and earned a pair of second chance points,
BYU missed a three-pointer the next trip down the floor, but collected the rebound and collected a pair of second chance points to take a four-point lead. A UCF turnover immediately led to two more points off a step back jumper, putting the Knights down by half a dozen with 88 seconds to play. The Black and Gold were forced to start playing the foul game, and despite some missed free throws by the Cougars in front of the frond waiving faithful, UCF didn’t connect on their opportunities on the other end, falling 81-75.
The 14 threes made by BYU is tied for the most allowed this season. The Knights also allowed 14 against Florida Atlantic earlier this year in a 100-94 win on Nov. 11. It’s just the third time in league play that UCF has surrendered double-digit made three-pointers.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to snap their skid as they host longtime rival Cincinnati on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside Addition Financial Arena.
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