Stretch run: BYU men’s basketball finishes strong in 81-75 win at UCF

Courtesy BYU Athletics
BYU's Mawot Mag goes up for a shot against UCF in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Addition Financial Center in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.The BYU men’s basketball team is starting to figure out what to do in crunch time.
The Cougars were in tight contest in Orlando on Saturday, tied with UCF at 65 as the clock neared the four-minute mark. BYU scored on seven straight possessions down the stretch and pulled away for an 81-75 victory at Addition Financial Arena, Keba Keita putting the emphasis on the finish with two ferocious blocks in the final minute.
“We’ve lost some heartbreakers, where some things didn’t go our way,” said BYU junior Richie Saunders, who led all scorers with 22 points. “We didn’t finish it out. It just shows that we’re learning, and we can continue to grow and learn. We’ve learned how to close games, especially here on the road, so we’re super happy.”
Darius Johnson made a pair of free throws for UCF to tie the game at 65-all with 4:46 to play and when it was winning time, BYU was at its best offensively. Saunders banged in a 3-pointer and raced in for a nifty reverse layup, followed by Egor Demin’s only basket of the game, a 3-pointer that gave the Cougars a 73-69 lead with 2:40 remaining. Keita had a big rebound basket and Mawot Mag tossed in a pretty fadeaway jumper as BYU moved out in front 77-71 with 1:22 on the clock.
Keita — a 45% free throw shooter — drained a pair of free throws with 46.7 seconds to play and helped preserve the win with his defense.
We’ve been a good first half team,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “Then to be able to close one out of the road, that’s something we can build on, for sure.”
Mag has his best game as a Cougar, scoring a season-best 19 points to go along with five assists, three rebounds and a steal. His career high was 24 points against Iowa while playing for Rutgers last season.
“My teammates, they did a phenomenal job,” Mag said. “They helped me get to my spots and everything. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I knew it was going to be a dog fight (against UCF). Every game in the Big 12 is a dog fight. I’m just glad we came out with the ‘W.'”
Saunders (6 of 9), Trevin Knell (4 of 7) and Mag (3 of 6) combined to make 13 of 22 (59%) from the 3-point line. Keita finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Defensively, BYU held the Golden Knights to 33% from the field (23 of 62) and 31% from the 3-point line (8 of 26).
Keyshawn Hall scored 18 of his team-leading 20 points for UCF (13-8 overall, 4-6 Big 12). 7-foot-2 freshman Moustapha Thiam had 17, Johnson 16 and Jordan Ivy-Curry 14 for the Golden Knights. Hall sat out most of the first half after picking up his second foul and then a technical for his third and Johnson had to go to the bench for a good portion of the second half after getting his fourth foul.
The first half was a rough one for BYU, which struggled to respond to the physicality and double teams of UCF. The Cougars coughed the ball up 12 times in the first 20 minutes, which led to a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers for the Golden Knights. BYU trailed by as many as seven points (36-29) but Knell hit a pair of 3-pointers, including one where he was fouled and converted a four-point play, to close to 40-38 at halftime.
“Coach challenged us at halftime to respond with toughness,” Mag said. “I feel like we did that in the first five minutes and cut down the turnovers.”
The Cougars opened the second half on an 8-0 run, including six points from Mag, to move out to a 46-40 lead with 16:22 to play. The game was tied five times in the second half until BYU slowly pulled away in the final four minutes.
“We knew this was going to be a really challenging game,” Young said. “They’re a high- powered offense with very dynamic guards. Keyshawn Hall he’s a really impressive player. Getting him in foul trouble, obviously, was huge. He’s a hard guy to stop. We definitely had our hands full, but we made just enough plays to get it done.”
BYU (15-6, 6-4) is on a four-game league win streak, its first in the Big 12. The Cougars have a huge game coming up at the Marriott Center against Arizona on Tuesday. The Wildcats (15-6, 9-1) beat in-state rival Arizona State in Tempe 81-72 on Saturday, with 27 points from guard Caleb Love.