Tallahassee, Florida — UCF hasn’t played for 13 days, but Knights’ top players looked like a mid-season knocking out a Florida team that hadn’t lost at home for nearly two years.
Brandon Mahan Won 26 in his career-the best 32 points in the second half and freshmen Isaiah Adams The UCF defeated No. 15 Florida 86-74 on Saturday night, adding 22 points and ending the 27-game home streak at Seminole.
Mahan shot 10/10 from the floor and 10/10 from the free throw line as UCF (2-1) won his first 12 games against Seminole.
Darin Green Jr. scored 20 points for the Knights, who opened the second half by pulling six out of seven three points apart. The UCF shot 27/54 (50%) from the floor and 9/19 (47.4%) from a 3-point range.
The UCF Mahan, Adams and Green trio accounted for 74 of the team’s 86 points.
“They played with great confidence, and that confidence permeated the rest of our team,” said UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. “It was hard. We couldn’t play so many games. It was hard for us.”
Adams recorded eight rebounds and Mahan added six rebounds as UCF won the battle on the 32-25 board.
UCF also put the game out of reach on the line, making 23 (88.5%) of the 26.
“We’ve been taking shots at the gym,” Mahan said. “Learn and agree.”
The Knights did just that, winning Florida five times after Dawkins took over the UCF in the 2016-17 season.
MJ Walker Seminole (4-1) scored 22 points as he recorded 41 consecutive wins at home non-conference. Rai Quan Gray And Anthony Polite It was 14 points each.
Florida State University shot 51 24 (47.1%) and 23 10 (43.5%) from a 3-point range. However, Seminole made 16 of 26 free-throw attempts (61.5%), with more turnovers (14) than assists (11), and as slow as recent wins against Indiana and Georgia Institute of Technology. Could not make a push.
“I’m not in panic mode,” said coach Leonard Hamilton of Florida State University. “We are a team that is still growing and developing. We are not yet a fine-tuned team. I think this team has leveraged some areas that we need to improve. “
Impact on polls
Florida gradually made it into the top 25, but this loss could drop Seminole by a few spots and make it out of the top 20.
Major Mahan
Mahan, a Texas A & M transfer, played a key role in all three UCF games this season. He lost to Michigan and scored 21 points, but beat Auburn to score 12 points in the second half. Mahan has made a big leap since last season, starting 30 games in his first season in Orlando, averaging 7.5 points.
Take-out
UCF: Knights haven’t played since their defeat in Michigan on December 6, but have won their first victory over the ranked team since knocking off Cincinnati on March 7, 2019. ..
Florida: Seminole was defeated for the first time in Tallahassee since the First Duke defeated Florida 80-78 on January 12, 2019.
next
UCF: We will be hosting Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Florida: Hosts Gardner Web on Monday.
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