The UCF men’s basketball team fought hard down to the final second yet the Knights could still not stave off elimination at the hands of No.5 seed BYU Cougars, 87-73, in the second round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
UCF’s maiden college basketball run in the Big 12 came to an end as their comeback attempt in the second half ran out of gas.
Darius Johnson, UCF’s leading scorer all season long at 15.2 points per game, gave everything he got in what could be his final game in black-and-gold jersey, pouring in a game-high 32 points on 12-for-22 shooting and 6-for-8 behind the three-point line.
Antwann Jones tallied 13 points and Jaylin Sellers added 12 in a game that saw the Knights trailing 0-14 in the first four minutes of the second-round matchup.
We March On pic.twitter.com/gvuAjN7gLi
— UCF Men’s Hoops ???? (@UCF_MBB) March 13, 2024
UCF was able to find their footing midway into the first half to cut the deficit to a single digit at halftime, 38-47. In the second half, senior guard CJ Walker and Johnson began to find their range from the perimeter as the two led a spirited comeback attempt that put them within three points, 56-59, at the 13:41 mark of the second half.
Sensing danger could be on the horizon, BYU shifted to a higher gear as they unleashed a 12-0 run to extend their lead by 15 points, 56-71, with 9 minutes left to play.
Despite Johnson’s effort to keep his team within striking distance, BYU showed disciplined basketball down the stretch, hitting several momentum-breaking shots that buried UCF for good.
UCF shot 38.8 percent from the field and recorded only eight assists in the entire game. On the other hand, BYU moved the ball better as they dished out 18 assists while shooting 47.2 from the floor and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Final from KC pic.twitter.com/bmAjOFKW0S
— UCF Men’s Hoops ???? (@UCF_MBB) March 13, 2024
Fousseyni Traore starred for the Cougars with his double-double, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall also added 13 apiece for BYU, who advanced to the quarterfinal game against Texas Tech.
