Darius Johnson scored 31 points and dished seven assists and Tyler Hendricks added 14 points to lift UCF to an 88-80 victory against Cincinnati on Thursday in a College Basketball Crown quarterfinal in Las Vegas.
UCF will meet Villanova in the tournament semifinals on Saturday after the Wildcats edged Southern California 60-59 later Thursday night.
Johnson helped clinch the win for the Knights with a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to go before hitting a layup just ahead of the buzzer to account for the final margin. He finished 11-for-23 from the floor with five treys.
Moustapha Thiam (13 points) and Nils Machowski (11) also scored in double figures for UCF (19-16).
Day Day Thomas paced the Bearcats (19-16) with 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Dillon Mitchell notched 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Simas Lukosius added 11 points.
Cincinnati finished plus-four on the glass but shot 42.9 percent compared to 47 percent for UCF.
UCF created distance early in the second half, rolling to a 10-0 run that included five points from Machowski.
The Bearcats responded with six points in 48 seconds to pull within 54-52 with 12:13 to go.
Thomas drilled a long trey to put Cincinnati ahead 60-58 with 10:15 left, but the Knights responded with a Thiam 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to grab the lead right back.
The teams combined on 14 lead changes, but the Knights went ahead for good when Thiam’s layup provided a 71-70 lead with 4:34 remaining, kick-starting a 10-0 run.
The Bearcats never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
Cincinnati topped host UCF 93-83 in Big 12 play on Feb. 5 behind 20 points from Thomas.
The Knights stopped a five-game losing streak in the series with Thursday’s victory. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 18-6.
Sparked by a spirited effort from Johnson, who contributed 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting, UCF took a 38-35 lead into halftime. Cincinnati had the advantage for only 1:43 in the opening half.
As with each Crown semifinalist, UCF earned $50,000 in NIL endorsement opportunities.
–Field Level Media
