No. 19 BYU opens big lead, holds off UCF

Field Level Media|published: Tue 13th February, 23:55 2024

Jan 13, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Brigham Young Cougars center Aly Khalifa (50) guard Trevin Knell (21) and UCF Knights forward Ibrahima Diallo (11) look for the rebound during the second half at Addition Financial Arena. credits: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Jaxson Robinson scored 21 points and Noah Waterman added 17 points and nine rebounds as No. 19 BYU held on for a 90-88 victory over UCF on Tuesday to finish off the season sweep between two new Big 12 Conference rivals.

Trevin Knell also scored 17 points and Dallin Hall added 10 as the Cougars (18-6, 6-5 Big 12) turned a strong start into their third consecutive home victory. BYU improved to 13-2 in its own building.

BYU shot 40 of 46 (87 percent) from the free-throw line after going 10 of 21 in a victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

Darius Johnson scored 20 points and Jaylin Sellers added 17 as UCF (13-10, 4-7) lost for the fourth time in its games while going 1-3 in four consecutive games against ranked teams: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and BYU. The Knights' lone victory in the stretch was a 74-63 decision vs. Oklahoma on Feb. 3.

Nils Machowski scored 11 points for UCF, which forced 17 BYU turnovers, with 11 of those coming in the second half thanks to a pressure defense. The Knights also lost to the Cougars at home 63-58 on Jan. 13, and they are 1-5 in road games during Big 12 play.

BYU used a 16-2 run bridging the first and second halves to take a 44-26 lead. The Knights went on a 12-0 run to pull within 48-41 with 14:16 remaining before the Cougars went up 60-46 with 11:27 remaining on two foul shots from Spencer Johnson.

UCF pulled within 72-65 with 4:10 left after Darius Johnson made a layup and two free throws following a flagrant foul. But BYU surged to a 80-69 edge on a 3-pointer from Robinson with 2:12 remaining.

UCF made four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the final 54 seconds to pull within two points with 0.7 seconds remaining before BYU held on.

The Cougars jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the Knights scored their first basket on a jumper from Antwann Jones 4:50 into the game. The Cougars led 39-26 at halftime.

UCF leading rebounder Ibrahima Diallo returned Tuesday and had three rebounds in 19 minutes after missing the Knights' Saturday loss to Texas Tech with a knee injury.

—Field Level Media

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