UCF has faced challenges in each of its first two games this season. But fresh off a dominant second half that fueled their 87-75 win over Yale, the Knights look to stay unbeaten when they host South Alabama on Tuesday.
After needing overtime to narrowly beat Florida Gulf Coast, UCF (2-0) found itself down by three at halftime in Friday’s game. However, the offense clicked in the second half as the Knights poured in 48 points to pull away.
“A big part of any team’s success is finding ways to win when things aren’t going as well,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We’ve shown ability to do that in our first couple of games. We’ve been down at halftime and we fought hard to find a way to win.”
That success has largely been driven by Dior Johnson thus far.
Johnson, who returned to the program after playing at Tarleton State last season, is averaging 34.5 points per game this year. He had a game-high 28 points and nabbed seven rebounds in the recent victory.
While the 6-foot-3 guard has shouldered the scoring load, he’s had some help. Riley Kugel, Arturo Dean and Elijah Hulsewe each contributed 10 points in that game.
South Alabama (1-1) enters Tuesday’s contest following a double-overtime thriller against Jacksonville State on Thursday.
The Jaguars trailed by 16 points in the second half and by 10 points with 86 seconds remaining. But South Alabama stormed back behind Stephen Williams and Jalen Langsy, who combined for the team’s final 12 points in regulation.
Williams nabbed 13 rebounds and finished with 27 points on 13-of-16 shooting, including the game-tying shot in regulation. The junior forward has already shown improvement after primarily coming off the bench last season.
“He was a monster. After the other game, I challenged him to be the most dominant big and impose his will,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said after the 83-80 win. “He did that tonight. He was bodying guys and finishing through contact. He had three big offensive rebounds down the stretch.”
Langsy followed close behind with 25 points and four steals. Aaron Goldstein chipped in 17 points, knocking down three 3-pointers.
But the Jaguars struggled as a whole from behind the arc, hitting 18.5% of their 3-point attempts.