COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Darius Johnson-led Knights delivered a statement win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M early last season, knocking off the Aggies in the teams’ 2024-25 season-opener.
Although this year’s squad features almost an entirely new roster, the outcome was the same Friday night in Reed Arena as five fresh faces produced double-digit scoring displays to power the Knights to an 86-74 victory and complete a home-and-home sweep of the Texas A&M Aggies Friday evening.
John Bol opened the scoring for the Knights, sinking a lay-up and subsequent free throw to turn their first possession into a three-point play. The teams traded baskets until a Texas A&M three-pointer tied the game at 10. From there, the Aggies seized momentum with a 7-0 run, capitalizing on a nearly three-minute scoring drought that stalled the Knights’ offense to push their lead out to 17-10.
A three from Carmelo Pacheco finally snapped the lull, but both teams continued to struggle to generate consistent offense. With just over three minutes left in the half, the Knights had only connected on 8 of their 22 attempts, while the Aggies stood at just 7-for-27. Strong free-throw shooting allowed Texas A&M to build an eight-point cushion, 26-18, just before the five-minute mark.
Despite the early offensive woes, the Black and Gold’s defensive push gave them a much-needed spark, forcing three quick turnovers after the four-minute timeout, allowing them to erupt on a 12-2 run to surge ahead, 30-28. A last-second Texas A&M basket, however, sent the teams into halftime tied at 30.
The teams traded blows early in the second half, each fighting to gain a steady lead. However, in a stretch that only subtracted about three minutes from the young half, the Aggies broke the game open with an 11-0 burst that lent them their largest lead of the game, and put the Knights in a 52-38 hole.
Junior Jordan Burks quickly settled the Knights, though, throwing down an alley-oop from Pacheco to end a three-minute scoring drought and ignite the response they needed.
From there, the Knights went to work, mounting a 15-7 run powered by back-to-back threes from Burks to pull within striking distance at 61-59 with 7:42 remaining. Burks finished the night with a career-high 21 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, also a career-best for made three-point shots in a single game.
Jordan Burks for 3️⃣ | @Jordanburks123 pic.twitter.com/WG24qbWfTA
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) November 15, 2025
Riley Kugel added timely buckets in the paint to tie the game at 63 and again at 65, but a trio of threes from Pacheco that gave the Black and Gold their first double-digit lead of the game at 78-67.
Pacheco was nearly automatic from deep, tallying 15 points on the evening, connecting on 5-of-6 of his shots, all from behind the three-point line.
Despite the Aggies' best efforts to get the game back under control, the Black and Gold never relinquished their lead, with a final dunk from Kris Parker cementing the victory, 86-74.
In total, the Black and Gold connected on 15 of their final 18 shots of the game, outscoring the Aggies 46-22 in the final 12 minutes of action.
Bol added a career-best 11 points to the night’s tally, while Kugel and Fulks joined the double-digit effort with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Fulks remained solid through the final stretch, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from behind the stripe and dishing out a team-high nine assists, rounding out a second-half surge to give UCF its first road win of the season.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return to Addition Financial Arena on Monday, Nov. 17, for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against the Oakland Grizzlies.
SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
UCF men's basketball single-match and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action at Addition Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.