Dior Johnson scored 25 points and Arturo Dean added 21 to lead UCF to an 84-70 victory over Georgia Southern on Friday in Orlando, Fla.
Johnson, who entered Friday as the nation’s leading scorer, reached 20 points for the fourth time this season and has scored at least 20 in eight straight games dating back to last season for the Knights (4-0).
Dallas Gardner scored a team-high 25 points and Truman Claytor IV added 15 for Georgia Southern (1-3).
Georgia Southern used a 6-0 run early in the second half to cut the deficit to 42-40, but UCF answered with 16 of the next 19 points to take a 58-43 lead with 14:21 remaining.
Dean sparked the response with a three-point play before Isaiah Malone hit a 3-pointer and Riley Kugel added a layup, completing an 8-0 burst.
Malone finished with 12 points.
Johnson scored on a layup with 13:17 to go to make it 60-45 UCF.
UCF took a 36-27 lead into halftime, marking the first time in four games this season that the Knights held an advantage at the break.
Johnson scored 11 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting and added two assists.
Johnson’s second assist came with 22 seconds left when he found Churchill Abass for a layup as Gardner committed a foul. Abass completed the three-point play to give UCF a 36-27 halftime lead.
UCF shot 45% from the field in the first half while limiting Georgia Southern to 29%, including 3-for-19 from 3-point range.
Gardner led the Eagles with seven first-half points on 3-of-12 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
The teams traded baskets early before UCF scored six unanswered points to take a 19-11 lead with 12:32 remaining in the first half.
Malone started the run with a pair of free throws and Lewis Walker made it 17-11 with a layup.
Abass capped the run with a layup before Eltramon Smith answered with a 3-pointer, ending Georgia Southern’s 2:39 scoring drought.
Smith finished with 13 points for the Eagles.
–Field Level Media
