Keyshawn Hall, Darius Johnson spark UCF past FAU
Whenever it seemed like UCF needed a bucket Tuesday night, there was Keyshawn Hall.
The 6-foot-7 junior forward seemed everywhere on the court for the Knights, whether it was putting up a well-timed 3-pointer or battling under the basket for a rebound. Helton was the catalyst who fueled UCF to a 100-94 win over visiting FAU.
Hall scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the Knights improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
“My mindset going into the game is just … I’m from Cleveland, so I’m just going to go at people and if I’m not scoring, I’m drawing fouls,” said Hall.
UCF had four scorers in double figures, including Hall, Jordan Ivy-Curry (22), Darius Johnson (21) and Benny Williams (17).
“What works so well is just like we’re all dynamic, and we all can score the ball at a high rate,” Hall said of the team scoring 100 points in a regular season game for the first time since 2014.
The Knights quickly fell behind 10-1 in the first two minutes, forcing coach Johnny Dawkins to use a timeout.
FAU (2-1) extended its lead to 21-11 with 12:38 left in the first half, but UCF began chipping away. Back-to-back 3s by Nils Machowski and JJ Taylor sliced the advantage to 23-20. A few minutes later, Ivy-Curry and Darius Johnson followed with back-to-back 3s to tie the score at 28 with 8:09.
UCF would go on an 18-8 run to grab a 46-36 halftime advantage.
FAU opened the second half with a 12-2 scoring run to tie the score at 48.
But a pair of free throws by Ivy-Curry and a 3 by Hall helped UCF push ahead 53-48 with 15:49 left in the game.
It was a back-and-forth affair with both teams making runs, but the Knights went on an 8-0 run fueled by Johnson to push their lead to 88-77 with 3:34 left.
“For him (Coach Dawkins) to schedule these three games first, I think that’s going to reward them in the long run,” FAU coach John Jakus said of UCF’s early schedule so far.
UCF received votes in the Associated Press and Coaches top 25 polls for the first time since 2020. The last time the program had a team ranked in the AP poll was 2018-19.
The Knights were without guards Jaylin Sellers (undisclosed) and Mikey Williams (foot), who have missed the first three games.
Matt Murschel can be reached at moc.lenitnesodnalro@lehcsrumm
Up next …
UCF vs. Tennessee Tech
When: 7, Tuesday, Addition Financial Arena
TV: ESPN+
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