UCF uses late rally to upset No. 13 Texas A&M in opener, 64-61

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel on Nov 4, 2024

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ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF relied on a stifling defense and some timely shooting to upset No. 13 Texas A&M, 64-61, in the season opener Monday night at Addition Financial Arena.

The Knights held the Aggies without a field goal for nearly 4 minutes while storming back to erase a double-digit second-half lead.

Darius Johnson scored a team-high 24 points, but his assist to Benny Williams on a two-handed dunk with 45 seconds left helped UCF (1-0) take its first lead since the 19-minute mark of the second half at 62-61.

“We knew we just had to get stops down in the stretch,” Johnson said. “They went on a little bit of run and out-rebounded us, and we gave them a lot of second-chance points, but we ended up fighting back.”

JJ Taylor helped seal the win with a free throw at 33 seconds, and Jordan Ivy-Curry added one more.

As the horn sounded at the end of the game, the student section stormed the court in celebration.

“It’s a great experience, but we were supposed to get that win, so it ain’t nothing too big,” Johnson said of the postgame celebration on the court. “We went into the game expecting to win and nothing less. We’re happy that the fans are excited and that they have so much joy and excitement behind us, but you know, we did what we were supposed to do.”

Texas A&M (0-1) had one final chance, but Wade Taylor IV’s driving layup went out of bounds. The Aggies are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Buzz Williams.

Ivy-Curry added 16 points, and Keyshawn Hall scored 10. Freshman center Moustapha Thiam had six blocks in 22 minutes before fouling out at the 4-minute mark.

The Knights opened the game by missing their first eight shot attempts — six of which came from 3-point range. The cold start allowed the Aggies to build a 6-0 lead before the media timeout at the 15:53 mark in the first half.

UCF broke its scoreless streak on a fast-break dunk by Hall off a Johnson steal.

The poor shooting continued as the Knights were 2 for 16 from the floor as A&M built a 21-12 advantage. But back-to-back 3-pointers from Ivy-Curry and Johnson pulled UCF to within five points at 23-18 with 7:51 to go in the first half.

UCF continued its run by making six of its next 10 shots — five of which were 3-pointers — to take its first lead at 28-27 with 3:19 left in the first. The Knights’ defense held the Aggies to 3-of-10 shooting over the final seven minutes, leading to a 29-29 halftime score.

Johnson’s 3-pointer, 17 seconds into the second half, gave UCF its second lead at 32-29.

But a pair of 3s by Taylor IV helped A&M retake the lead at 36-32.

The Aggies extended that lead to 11 points with about 7 minutes left to play.

UCF hung around, cutting the lead to 61-60 with 1:18.

“This was a statement game,” Johnson said. “Moving forward, we want people to underestimate us, but moving forward, we must make people respect us.”

The Knights were without the services of guards Jaylin Sellers, Mikey Williams, Tyler Hendricks and Cam Simpson.

Sellers missed the team’s exhibition game against Georgia last week after collapsing during a preseason game against Florida Gulf Coast. The school has not disclosed his status.

Williams was wearing a boot on his left foot, didn’t participate in the shoot-around, and was listed as out for the game.

UCF opened the season with 11 newcomers — nine from the transfer market — led by guards Ivy-Curry (UTSA), Hall (George Mason) and Dallan Coleman, along with forward Benny Williams (Syracuse).