Darius Johnson scored 17 points and Jaylin Sellers and Shemarri Allen each added 12 on Wednesday, lifting UCF to a 77-71 victory over Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
Johnson overcame a 4-for-11 performance from the floor and 1-for-5 effort from 3-point range by making 8 of 9 foul shots.
C.J. Walker scored 10 points for the Knights (15-12, 6-9 Big 12), who erased a 12-point deficit in the first half to snap a five-game skid on the road. The win was UCF’s second in nine tries on the road this season and first since posting a 77-71 victory against Texas on Jan. 17.
UCF held a 40-27 edge in rebounds Wednesday, with Walker and Thierno Sylla each recording six.
Oklahoma State’s John-Michael Wright sank five 3-pointers to highlight his season-high 22-point performance. Wright’s previous season high was 16, initially set in a 74-69 loss to TCU on Jan. 23 and matched in an 83-54 loss to Kansas on Jan. 30.
Eric Dailey Jr. scored 15 points and Javon Small added 13 for the Cowboys (12-16, 4-11), who have lost two in a row and 11 of their last 15 games.
Sellers’ layup boosted UCF’s lead to 64-56 before Small scored seven straight points to bring Oklahoma State within one. The Knights made four free throws and Ibrahima Diallo added a layup to push his team’s advantage to 70-63 with 2:41 left in the second half.
UCF made seven free throws to keep the Cowboys at bay the rest of the way.
Oklahoma State built a 12-point lead at 36-24 with 4:37 remaining in the first half before UCF quickly halved its deficit after 3-pointers by Marchelus Avery and Walker.
The Knights scored 14 of the last 20 points in the first half and 22 of the first 33 in the second to seize a 60-53 advantage, with Sellers connecting twice from beyond the arc and Johnson added another to highlight the second-half surge.
–Field Level Media
