LUBBOCK, TX — The UCF men’s basketball team (10-2 overall, 1-0 in Big 12) started celebrating the new year early by launching fireworks of its own before the stroke of midnight in its Big 12 Conference opener, holding off Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1), 87-83, Tuesday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena.
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 half to power the Knights, who shot over 50-percent from the floor for the second straight game, to a New Year’s Eve victory on the road.
“It was a hard-fought win,” said UCF Head Coach Johnny Dawkins. “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.”
UCF’s offense was on display for the entirety of the first half, shooting 57.1% with 47 points, tied for the most in a game this season. The offensive eruption was a continuation of the Knights’ last contest 10 days ago, thumping Jacksonville 86-66 while shooting 58.7%, the highest mark since shooting 60.4% against Temple on Jan. 2, 2019.
After Texas Tech, which opened the game as a 13.5-point favorite, scored on its first two trips down the floor, marking the Red Raiders’ largest lead of the game just 68 seconds into the contest, UCF went on a 13-2 run, on the strength of a Dallan ‘Deebo’ Coleman steal and layup, a Hall layup and a Coleman three-pointer giving the Knights an early seven-point edge at 13-6 with 14:17 remaining.
The hosts jumped in front briefly with an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds or so, but that proved to be their final lead of the contest at 14-13. Moustapha Thiam, a 7-foot-2 freshman center, banged home a three-pointer to get the Black and Gold back in front, his first of two made triples on three attempts from deep on the afternoon, and 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 10 minutes as the guests went on a remarkable 24-10 run, reaching a game-best 18-point edge, 71-53, with 10:06 remaining.
Texas Tech, refused to go away, however, responding with its best run of the game, putting up 11 straight points to whittle the lead to seven, 71-64, with 7:30 remaining.
Darius Johnson was clutch down the stretch for UCF with several critical baskets, but the Red Raiders continued to eat into the Knights’ lead behind JT Toppin, who finished with a game-high 26 points, including a score off a UCF turnover to make it a one-point game, 84-83, 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. After Texas Tech missed a 3-point try to tie the contest with eight seconds remaining, Johnson again was fouled and made one-of-two from the charity stripe to give UCF the 87-83 edge.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of understanding those big moments,” said Dawkins. “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.”
Darius Johnson came to life in the second half, going five-of-six from the field, a perfect two-of-two from three-point range and five-of-six at the charity stripe to compile 17 points. He led UCF with 24 points and four assists, while Hall, who hit his first 11 shots of the game, filled the stat sheet with 22 points, a team-high eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
Thiam also finished in double figures, scoring seven of his 10 points in the second half, in just 17 minutes before fouling out. Jordan Ivy-Curry had his double-digit point streak snapped on Tuesday, scoring nine points after earning 10 or more points in his first 11 games as a Knight, while Coleman and Jaylin Sellers, in just his second game of the season, chipped in with seven points each.
UCF has now won six straight games for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Up Next:
The Knights return home to Addition Financial Arena for their first two home games of the Big 12 slate with a contest against No. 7 Kansas at 4 p.m. on Sunday and Colorado on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Follow the Knights:
Follow UCF men’s basketball on X (@UCF_MBB), Instagram (@UCF.MBB) and Facebook (/UCFMensBasketball).
Here is the box score:
UCF 87, Texas Tech 83
UCF (10-2, 1-0 Big 12)
Darius Johnson 7-10 8-10 24, Keyshawn Hall 9-13 0-0 22, Moustapha Thiam 4-6 0-1 10, Jordan Ivy-Curry 1-7 7-7 9, Dallan "Deebo" Coleman 2-4 2-2 7, Jaylin Sellers 3-6 0-0 7, Benny Williams 2-5 0-0 4, Rokas Jocius 1-4 0-0 2, Mikey Williams 0-0 2-2 2, JJ Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals _ 29-56 19-22 87.
Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1 Big 12)
JT Toppin 11-19 4-8 26, Chance McMillian 4-11 3-3 12, Elijah Hawkins 3-8 5-5 11, Darrion Williams 5-16 1-1 11, Kerwin Walton 0-1 0-0 0, Federiko Federiko 6-6 0-0 12, Kevin Overton 3-8 1-1 9, Christian Anderson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals _ 33-72 14-18 83.
Halftime _ UCF 47, Texas Tech 41. 3-point field goals _ UCF 10-23 (Hall 4-4, Da. Johnson 2-3, Thiam 2-3, Sellers 1-2, Coleman 1-2, Ivy-Curry 0-4, Jocius 0-2, B. Williams 0-2, Taylor 0-1); Texas Tech 3-16 (Overton 2-4, McMillan 1-4, D. Williams 0-3, Toppin 0-2, Hawkins 0-2, Anderson 0-1). Team fouls _ UCF 18; Texas Tech 17. Fouled out _ UCF (Thiam); Texas Tech (Hawkins, Anderson). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UCF 34 (Hall 8, Coleman 7); Texas Tech 38 (Toppin 10, D. Williams 5). Turnovers _ UCF 14; Texas Tech 10. Assists _ UCF 9 (Da. Johnson 4, Hall 2); Texas Tech 13 (Anderson 5, Hawkins, D. Williams 3 each). Steals _ UCF 4 (Da. Johnson, Coleman, Sellers, B. Williams); Texas Tech 6 (McMillan, Hawkins, D. Williams 2 each). Blocked shots _ UCF 2 (Thiam, Hall); Texas Tech 5 (Toppin 4).
