Darius Johnson scored 31 points and dished seven assists and Tyler Hendricks added 14 points to lift UCF to an 88-80 victory against Cincinnati on Thursday in a College Basketball Crown quarterfinal in Las Vegas.
UCF will meet the winner of Thursday’s second quarterfinal between Villanova and USC in the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Johnson helped clinch the win for the Knights with a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to go before hitting a layup just ahead of the buzzer to account for the final margin. He finished 11-for-23 from the floor with five treys.
Moustapha Thiam (13 points) and Nils Machowski (11) also scored in double figures for UCF (19-16).
Day Day Thomas paced the 19-16 Bearcats with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Dillon Mitchell notched a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds and Simas Lukosius added 11 points.
Cincinnati finished plus-four on the glass but shot 42.9 percent compared to 47 percent for UCF.
UCF created distance early in the second half, rolling to a 10-0 run that included five points from Machowski.
The Bearcats responded with six points in 48 seconds to pull within 54-52 with 12:13 to go.
Thomas drilled a long trey to put Cincinnati ahead 60-58 with 10:15 left, but the Knights responded with a Thiam 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to grab the lead right back.
The teams combined on 14 lead changes, but the Knights went ahead for good when Thiam’s layup provided a 71-70 lead with 4:34 remaining, kick-starting a 10-0 run.
The Bearcats never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
Cincinnati topped host UCF 93-83 in Big 12 play on Feb. 5 behind 20 points from Thomas.
The Knights stopped a five-game losing streak in the series with Thursday’s victory. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 18-6.
Sparked by a spirited effort from Johnson, who contributed 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting, UCF took a 38-35 lead into halftime. Cincinnati had the advantage for only 1:43 in the opening half.
As with each Crown semifinalist, UCF earned $50,000 in NIL endorsement opportunities.
–Field Level Media
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