No. 19 BYU withstands late UCF rally, holds on for 90-88 victory

PROVO, Utah -- — Jaxson Robinson scored 21 points off the bench to lead No. 19 BYU to a 90-88 victory over UCF on Tuesday night.

Noah Waterman added 17 points and nine rebounds as the Cougars (18-6, 6-5 Big 12) won for the fourth time in five games. Trevin Knell also scored 17 and Dallin Hall had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

BYU made 40 free throws in becoming the first opponent to reach 90 points against UCF this season.

Darius Johnson led the Knights with 20 points. Jaylin Sellers added 17 and Nils Machowski had 11. UCF (13-10, 4-7) trailed the entire way despite scoring 27 points off 17 BYU turnovers and shooting 51% from the field.

The Knights made a season-high 34 field goals and dominated the Cougars in several statistical categories. UCF outscored BYU 46-26 in the paint, 19-4 in fast-break points and 18-6 in second-chance points.

“It was a very ugly win, but we’ll take what we can get — especially in this league,” Robinson said. “This win means a lot to us.”

BYU built a 19-point cushion early in the second half before UCF forced six turnovers in three minutes to get back in the game. Shemarri Allen and Marchelus Avery punctuated a 12-0 run with back-to-back dunks off steals that trimmed the deficit to 48-41.

BYU stalled the rally and regained a double-digit advantage with three straight baskets from Hall and Richie Saunders.

UCF made four 3-pointers in the final minute — highlighted by consecutive jumpers from Machowski — to cut the margin to 88-86 with 11.2 seconds left. Robinson hit eight free throws in the final minute to help BYU escape with a win.

“That team threw us their best punch and we were able to respond,” Knell said. “I feel like we showed our true colors coming out with three minutes left (when) it was a five-point game and we kept responding.”

The teams combined for 113 second-half points. UCF totaled 62 points after halftime while making 23 baskets — two more than BYU scored over 40 minutes.

“If we play two halves like that, we’ll win every game,” Sellers said. “With how we finished the game tonight, if we start the game like that, we win the game.”

BYU withstood a late rally for the second consecutive game after blowing second-half leads in three earlier losses to Big 12 opponents. The Cougars have seemingly turned a corner in finishing games.

“I think our guys are feeling confident being more aggressive, and it’s pretty great," coach Mark Pope said.

Knell made a pair of baskets and hit three free throws to help BYU score the game’s first 10 points. Later in the first half, Robinson converted a four-point play to push BYU’s lead back to double digits and then drained a second corner 3 to put the Cougars up 39-26 going into the locker room.

“They’re hard to prepare for because the floor’s so spaced because you have to stay out there with all those shooters all over the place,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “It gives them a lot of room to run their offense and get a good flow.”

BIG PICTURE

UCF started slow for a second straight game, forcing the Knights to battle back from an early double-digit deficit multiple times before falling short in their quest for a second Big 12 road win.

BYU went 40 of 46 from the free-throw line after shooting 10 for 21 against Kansas State three days earlier.

UP NEXT

UCF hosts Cincinnati on Saturday.

BYU visits Oklahoma State on Saturday.

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