ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Darius Johnson had 16 points and five assists, Jaylin Sellers had 15 points and UCF held off No. 23 Texas Tech without a field goal for more than nine minutes in the second half, 75-61. I won. Saturday’s victory.
The victory, keyed by a 20-3 run in the second half, was the Knights’ third win over a ranked opponent at Addition Financial Arena in their first season in the Big 12 (14 wins). 12 losses, 5 wins, 9 losses, Big 12). has a total of eight wins over ranked opponents in program history.
Johnson took control, making back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Knights the breathing room they needed and take their first double-digit lead with five minutes remaining.
Texas Tech (19-8, 8-6) put pressure on UCF’s second-half lead with 9:42 remaining after Kerwin Walton made a layup followed by a free throw seconds earlier. They had narrowed the gap to two points, 53-51. .
However, the Red Raiders had difficulty scoring for the rest of the game. The Knights took over from there.
UCF did not allow a field goal until over a minute remained. The Knights forced five turnovers in that span, and Johnson stole the ball and Shemari Allen made a two-handed dunk for the decisive score.
For the Knights, the defensive pressure they deployed was for the team to return to its identity and feed it into the offense to end a four-game losing streak.
“We became too much of a perimeter-oriented team and too much of a jump-shooting team,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “That’s not who we are. We want to ground and pound. We want to touch the paint and play inside-out with the big teams. We need some time to find our way. It took.”
The Knights shot 46.6% for the game, making 6 of 12 3-pointers. UCF scored 32 points in the paint to Texas Tech’s 12, dominating inside with shot blockers and scoring from the post for much of the game.
UCF’s defense shut down Texas Tech’s leading scorers, Pop Isaacs and Joe Toussaint. This guard duo is averaging 28.8 points per game. However, Isaacs only scored eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Toussaint scored three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Texas Tech shot 37% from the floor but made just 8 of 28 3-pointers (28.6%). The Knights blocked three shots and forced 14 turnovers.
“You still have to play aggressive, get in the guy’s chin and play to the basket,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “We had a quiet stretch where we probably went 3 seconds or so without getting in the paint. When you have that length, you want to avoid it and play away from the basket, but instead of doing the opposite. I have to.”
Darrion Williams led the Red Raiders with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Walton added 18 points.
The Red Raiders had an early answer for all of the Knights’ first-half goals. However, Texas Tech got called from the field in the second half, and Emeli Yaraho hit a corner 3 with 1:02 left, and the game fell short.
By that time, UCF had extended its lead and put the game away.
“We’ve been preaching just getting stops and building stops,” Johnson said. “They were up 51 points for a while. We built on that, got easy transition buckets, got fouls. We just built on that.”
big picture
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders’ NCAA Tournament hopes shouldn’t take too much of a hit. But they have lost three straight on the road and four of their last five on the road from Lubbock, Texas.
UCF: The Knights continue to establish their ability to win in the Big 12, even if their NCAA Tournament dreams are long gone. The Knights ended their losing streak at four with the win.
what’s next
Texas Tech: Returns home to face Texas on Tuesday night.
UCF: Leaves for a matchup against Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
___ Get voting alerts and updates on AP Top 25 Basketball all season long. Please register here
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-Basketball