KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The UCF men’s basketball team (17-16) was relentless in their pursuit of attempting to advance through the Big 12 Conference Championship Second Round but were outdueled by Kansas (21-11) in a heartbreaking 98-94 overtime loss.
“It was a hard-fought game, I thought our guys gave a great effort,” said UCF Head Coach Johnny Dawkins. “You tip your hat to Kansas for the way they played. I thought our guys did a good job of following the game plan and giving us a chance to be able to win against a team that’s very experience. Really proud of our guys’ overall effort.”
In what wound up being the highest scoring game in the history of the Big 12 Championship, the Knights found themselves locked in a tight first half before falling behind quickly in the second. Never surrendering, UCF used a 14-0 run to propel themselves back into the contest before going stride for stride with Kansas for the final 10 minutes of regulation. Jordan Ivy-Curry hit a three-pointer to force overtime and while the Knights hung tough, they ultimately couldn’t pull out the victory.
The Black and Gold missed on their first five shots as Kansas raced to an 8-0 edge, but the Knights, who never led in the first half, leveled the scoring at 22-22 with 8:35 remaining in the first half, and buried five of the final seven points of the half, all from freshman Moustapha Thiam, who knocked down UCF’s fifth triple with 31 seconds left to slash the deficit to just three, 40-37, at halftime.
Keyshawn Hall banged home his third three pointer of the game to even the game at 40-40 to open the second half, but the Jayhawks would build a 13-point lead, 61-48, including a 7-0 run, with 13:27 left, before the Knights went on an amazing 19-3 run, including a 14-0 run, that included four consecutive made 3-pointers from Thiam, Dallan ‘Deebo’ Coleman (two in a row) and Tyler Hendricks that gave the Black and Gold a 65-64 lead with 9:21 to go. Hall piled on a pair of free throws to put UCF up three (67-64) with 8:47 showing on the clock.
The remainder of the second half didn’t see the lead grow greater than four points and the Knights would hold Kansas without a field goal for the final 4:36 of regulation. But the Jayhawks converted on all six free throw attempts to take an 83-80 lead with 1:13 to play.
Jordan Ivy-Curry, who made his first start since February 19 because of illness and injury, gathered a rebound and glided up the court, making a move to his left at the top of the arc and burying his lone triple of the night to tie the game at 83-83 with only a handful of seconds to play.
A Hunter Dickinson 3-pointer to open overtime put Kansas ahead to stay, but UCF still had plenty of opportunities to claim the victory, going 2-for-4 at the free throw line when down just 88-85, and were still in the game even after the Jayhawks built a 5-point lead with 1:18 to go. Nils Machowski drilled a three with 54 ticks to play to cut the deficit to 92-90 and Hall stole the ball back, but lost it out of bounds, forcing the Knights to foul with 25 seconds left. Kansas hit both free throws, but Ivy-Curry responded with a drive to the lane, earning and converting an ‘and-one’ to bring it back to one, 94-93, with 18 seconds left. The Jayhawks missed on one of two free throws, and UCF worked the ball to Thiam for a baseline jumper with less than five second to play, but the ball rattled out. Still, UCF had a shot as Kansas made just one of two free throws, but Coleman was fouled before getting a three attempt away and made the first before trying to intentionally miss the second with 0.9 seconds left, but didn’t hit the rim, turning the ball over.
The Knights tied a season-high with 14 made three pointers. Hall led the way with his fourth double-double of the campaign, scoring 25 points with 11 rebounds. Johnson scored 20 points for the sixth consecutive game, finishing the night with 22 points and seven steals. Ivy-Curry added 13 and Thiam, who also had 13 points, was one rebound shy of his fourth double-double in a six game span.
Behind a hot-shooting second half, 14th-seeded UCF had defeated 11th-seeded Utah, 87-72, in the opening round Tuesday night.
Hall delivered a stellar performance, leading the Knights with 23 points, including 17 in the second half. He showcased his prowess at the free-throw line, converting 12-of-14 attempts, a category in which he led the Big 12 this season.
Darius Johnson added 20 points, while Ivy-Curry, returning after a two-game absence, contributed 15 points off the bench. Thiam recorded his third double-double in the last five games, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The game began with UCF taking an early 7-2 lead, but Utah responded with a 14-0 run, establishing a 21-9 advantage at the 10:45 mark. The Utes dominated the first-half rebounding battle, 24-13, and outscored the Knights 26-8 in the paint, including 12 points off offensive rebounds.
However, UCF remained competitive by connecting on seven three-pointers in the first half, narrowing the deficit to one at halftime, 40-39, thanks to a Hall buzzer-beating triple.
UCF seized control in the second half, igniting a 14-2 run to take a 53-42 lead at the first media timeout. The Knights’ hot shooting (71-percent in the second half) and an effective match-up zone defense stifled Utah’s front line, extending the lead to 61-43 with 13:35 remaining following a fast-break dunk by Hall.
The Knights' advantage ballooned to 20 points at the 13:01 mark, effectively sealing the game. Despite a brief 7-0 run by Utah to cut the deficit to single digits at 67-58 with 9:06 left, UCF responded with a 10-0 run to stretch the lead back to 19 points, squashing any hopes of a Utah comeback.
Up Next:
The Knights will now wait to see if they receive a bid to the NIT Tournament that will begin on Tuesday. Check _ ucfknights.com _ for updates.
Here are the box scores:
First round
Tuesday, March 11
UCF 87, Houston 72
UCF (17-15)
Keyshawn Hall 5-10 12-14 23, Darius Johnson 8-14 2-2 20, Moustapha Thiam 5-9 3-5 14, Nils Machowski 3-6 0-0 8, Dallan "Deebo" Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Ivy-Curry 5-8 2-3 15, Tyler Hendricks 2-2 0-0 5, Benny Williams 1-3 0-2 2, Dior Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Poohpha Warakulnukroh 0-0 0-0 0, JJ Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals _ 29-53 19-26 87.
Houston (16-16)
Keanu Dawes 8-13 5-6 21, Lawson Lovering 5-11 1-2 11, Gabe Madsen 2-10 4-5 10, Jake Wahlin 2-5 1-0 7, Mike Sharavjamts 3-12 0-2 6, Hunter Erickson 3-5 0-2 7, Zach Keller 3-6 1-3 7, Miro Little 1-3 0-0 3, Mason Madsen 0-3 0-0 0. Totals _ 27-68 14-23 72.
Halftime _ Houston 40, UCF 39. 3-point field goals _ UCF 10-24 (Ivy-Curry 3-5, Da. Johnson 2-5, Machowski 2-5, Moustapha 1-4, Hall 1-1, Hendricks 1-1, Taylor 0-1); Houston 4-26 (G. Madsen 2-9, Erickson 1-3, Lovering 1-2, Sharavjamts 0-6, Wahlin 0-3, Dawes 0-2, M. Madsen 0-1). Team fouls _ UCF 15; Houston 20. Fouled out _ Houston (Little). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UCF 35 (Thiam 11, Machowski 7); Houston 40 (Dawes 15, Sharavjamts 6, Lovering 5). Turnovers _ UCF 14; Houston 11. Assists _ UCF 15 (Hall, Da. Johnson 5 each, Machowski, Ivy-Curry 2 each); Houston 17 (Lovering, Sharavjamts 4 each, Dawes, Erickson 2 each). Steals _ UCF 7 (Machowski 3, Da. Johnson, Ivy-Curry 2 each); Houston 9 (G. Madsen 3, Dawes, Sharavjamts 2 each). Blocked shots _ UCF 4 (Thiam 3); Houston 1 (Sharavjamts).
Second Round
Wednesday, March 12
Kansas 98, UCF 94
overtime
UCF (17-16)
Keyshawn Hall 8-17 5-8 25, Darius Johnson 8-14 4-4 22, Jordan Ivy-Curry 5-10 2-3 13, Moustapha Thiam 5-12 1-2 13, Nils Machowski 2-6 2-2 8, Dallan "Deebo" Coleman 2-4 3-3 9, Tyler Hendricks 1-2 0-0 3, JJ Taylor 0-0 1-2 1, Benny Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Dior Johnson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals _ 31-68 18-24 94.
Kansas (21-11)
Zeke Mayo 6-11 7-8 24, Hunter Dickinson 9-18 2-4 23, KJ Adams 6-11 3-5 15, Dajuan Harris Jr. 2-8 2-2 6, Rylan Griffen 0-5 0-0 0, AJ Storr 7-11 2-2 19, Flory Bidunga 3-7 0-0 6, David Coit 1-5 2-2 5, Rakease Passmore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 34-76 18-23 98.
Halftime _ Kansas 40, UCF 37. Regulation _ 83-83. 3-point field goals _ UCF 8-25 (Da. Johnson 4-11, Thiam 2-5, Taylor 2-2, Machowski 0-2, Hall 0-2, Coleman 0-2, Williams 0-1); Kansas 12-37 (Small 5-15, Powell 5-8, Hansberry 2-6, Yesufu 0-4, Okani 0-1, Harris 0-1). Team fouls _ UCF 14; Kansas 17. Fouled out _ UCF (Da. Johnson); Kansas (Harris, Storr). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UCF 39 (Coleman 10, Hall 8, Thiam 7, Da. Johnson 5); Kansas 44 (Hansberry 10, Okani 8, Small 7, Harris 5). Turnovers _ UCF 17; Kansas 16. Assists _ UCF 9 (Da. Johnson 3, Machowski, Coleman 2 each); Kansas 17 (Small 9, Andre 3, Hansberry 2). Steals _ UCF 11 (Da. Johnson 7, Machowski 3); Kansas 6 (Small, Harris 2 each). Blocked shots _ UCF 4 (Hall 2); Kansas 5 (Okani 3).
