'Gritty, gritty win': No. 19 BYU survive foul-laden UCF to claim 4th win in 5 games

PROVO — Maybe Tuesday night's Big 12 officiating crew simply wanted BYU to practice its 71.6% free-throw shooting, the No. 178 mark in the nation.

Practice makes perfect.

Jaxson Robinson scored 21 points, including 12-of-13 from the foul line, and Noah Waterman added 17 points and nine rebounds as the 19th-ranked Cougars survived 46 fouls and 17 turnovers to hold off visiting UCF 90-88 in front of an announced crowd of 15,590 fans at the Marriott Center.

Dallin Hall supplied 10 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Cougars, who shot 36-of-42 from the free-throw line.

Trevin Knell scored 17 points for BYU, which never trailed and led for nearly 38 minutes in sweeping its fellow conference newcomer from Orlando.

"Welp. That was a gritty, gritty win," said Knell, as if taking a long breathe for the first time in nearly three hours. "I'm super proud of our guys. That team threw us their best punch, and we were able to respond."

Added Robinson: "It was a gritty win, a very ugly win, but we'll take whatever we can get, especially in this league. This win means a lot to us."

Darius Johnson scored 20 points, and Jaylin Sellers added 17 for UCF in the Knights' fourth loss in five games.

Shemarri Allen supplied 9 points and three rebounds for UCF (13-10, 4-7 Big 12), which outscored the Cougars 27-9 off turnovers, 46-26 in the paint, 18-6 in second-chance points, and 19-4 on the fast break — and never led.

"This is one of the most physical teams in the Big 12," Knell said. "They're also really big — 6-11, 6-8, 6-8 across the board and some long guards. They're a little different than other teams by the way they turn you over. But I feel like we really controlled that on the offensive end. … Being strong with the ball is huge."

UCF whiffed on their first five attempts from the field, and shot just 3-of-11 overall as BYU jumped out to a 15-6 lead midway through the first half.

The Knights pulled within 28-24 with 3:59 left in the half, capping a 12-2 run with Omar Payne's dunk that trimmed a 14-point lead down to 4.

BYU shot just 37% from the field, but converted 14-of-15 free throws and outrebounded UCF 21-14 en route to the 39-26 halftime lead.

Robinson had just 9 points on 2-of-5 shooting in the first half, but his two makes were critical, including a 3-pointer and the foul with 1:31 left and a buzzer-beating trey that capped the Cougars' 11-2 run to end the half.

UCF turned six turnovers into a 12-0 run, pulling within 48-41 on Marchelus Avery's dunk with 14:16 to go. Hall's 3-pointer from the top of the key slowed the bleeding, but the sophomore from Plain City drew his third personal foul less than two minutes later.

Were it not for the free-throw line, things could've been even worse for the Cougars.

Officials called 28 fouls in the first 29 minutes — and the number kept climbing — as BYU clung to a 60-48 lead with 11:09 remaining.

The Knights slowly chipped away at the lead, pulling within 86-82 on Nils Machowski's triple with 23 seconds left, within two on another three with 10 seconds remaining, and the final margin on Allen's jumper with just under 2 seconds to go.

But much like it did Saturday night against Kansas State, BYU kept responding, including through Robinson's 3-pointer from the corner off a sidearmed pass from Hall near the baseline with 2:12 remaining. In hindsight, that may have been the play of the game from the senior super sub — that, or the nine consecutive free throws he made in the final 1:20 to prevent UCF from taking the lead.

"Just knock them down," Robinson recalled repeating to himself. "I do it every day, before I leave the gym, after practice, after shoot around; whatever it is. It's just repetition. That's all it is."

Allen even had a game-winning attempt with 0.7 seconds left on the clock carom off the backboard, though it remained unclear if the shot came before the buzzer.

The Knights made a season-high 34 field goals, shooting 55% in the second half in outscoring the Cougars 62-51. They also finished 14-of-26 from the free-throw line.

"It just means that if we play two halves like that, in my opinion, we'll win every game," Sellers said. "How we finished the game tonight, if we start like that, we're going to win. Shout out to BYU; they executed down the stretch and made free throws. But if we can play like that second half, we'll be good."

UCF returns home Saturday to host Cincinnati, while BYU hits the road for Stillwater, Oklahoma to face Oklahoma State (1 p.m. MST, ESPN+).

Related topics