Keyshawn Hall scored 20 of his season-high 26 points after halftime and Darius Johnson fueled a key second-half run, lifting UCF to a 100-94 win over Florida Atlantic on Tuesday in Orlando.
In a game with four ties and three lead changes, Johnson rattled off eight unanswered points to give the Knights an 88-77 edge with 4:31 remaining. Johnson finished with 21 points after shooting 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and he is within six points of 1,000 for his career at UCF (3-0).
UCF’s Jordan Ivy-Curry, a 6-foot-3 transfer from UTSA, scored 18 of his season-high 22 points in the first half. He made 4 of 8 3-point attempts overall as the Knights finished 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from long range.
Benny Williams contributed 17 points and seven rebounds off the UCF bench and Hall also grabbed seven boards. The Knights, who were among schools receiving votes outside the Top 25 in the latest Associated Press poll, remained undefeated this season, having previously logged home wins over Texas A&M and Purdue Fort Wayne.
Leland Walker (five assists, five rebounds) scored all of his team-high 20 points in the second half for Florida Atlantic (2-1). Kaleb Glenn came off the bench to score 17 points, Baba Miller had 14 points before fouling out with 1:12 left, KyKy Tandy had 11 points and freshman Matas Vokietaitis 10 points.
The Knights converted 23 of 25 free throws — Ivy-Curry went 6-for-6 shooting at the line and Johnson was 5-for-5 — and held a 35-29 rebounding edge. The Owls made 14 3-pointers on 34 attempts (41.2 percent).
UCF led 46-36 at halftime after trailing by as many as 11 points. The Owls built a 10-1 lead just two minutes into the game, prompting a UCF timeout after Walker assisted on Miller’s left-wing triple.
The Knights are idle until Nov. 19, when they host Tennessee Tech. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic plays College of Charleston on Friday night as part of the Field of 68 Tip-Off event in Charleston, S.C.
–Field Level Media
