The UCF men’s basketball team traveled to Tallahassee and beat No. 15 Florida State 86-74 on Saturday, ending the Seminoles’ 27-game home winning streak.
After the game, UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins credited the Knights’ leveled concentration and composure throughout the matchup.
“I thought our guys were really locked in,” he said.
UCF senior guard Brandon Mahan led the Knights with a career-high 32 points in the game, with 26 points coming in the second half.
Mahan shot 10-of-13 from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the line.
“You saw a glimpse of [who Mahan can be] tonight,” Dawkins said. “He has the ability to make plays with the basketball in his hands for himself or his teammates. He can knock down shots from beyond the arc. I’m happy to see him starting to find his way.”
UCF sophomore guard Darin Green Jr. tallied 20 points during the contest. The sophomore opened the second half by making 6-of-7 shots from beyond the arc.
Dawkins said Green Jr. is always working on his craft and putting in work.
“I’ve coached a number of great shooters and [Green Jr. is] right up there as one of the top shooters I’ve coached,” Dawkins said. “He can get it going and two threes become seven threes really quick.”
Mahan said Green Jr. is always ready to impact the game for the Knights.
UCF freshman forward Isaiah Adams added 22 points to the Knights’ stellar road performance.
Adams finished the night with eight rebounds and two assists, while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 9-of 12 from the line.
When asked what it’s like to play with a confident young player like Adams, Mahan said he has a lot of talent.
“He ain’t afraid,” Mahan said. “He’s ready to go out there and play to win — that’s what I love about him.”
FSU’s leading scorer was junior guard M.J. Walker who led the team with 22 points during the game, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Seminoles to victory.
As a team, UCF shot 27-of-54 from the field and 9-of-19 from 3-point range, while Florida State shot 24-of-51 and 10-of-23 from 3-point range.
The Knights outscored the Seminoles 26-8 in fast break points and 32-22 in paint points, while also outscoring 21-16 on points off turnovers and 12-11 in second-chance points.
With the loss, FSU saw its streak of 41 straight home non-conference wins snapped and falls to 4-1 overall and remains 1-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Knights — which defeated a ranked opponent for the eighth time in program history during the win, and beat the Seminoles for the first time in 12 games — improve to 2-1 overall.
The Knights are set to kick off American Athletic Conference play on Tuesday against Cincinnati at Addition Financial Arena at 4 p.m.
Mahan said the team has to stay focused heading into conference play.
“We have to keep being consistent, executing the game plan and going hard for 40 minutes straight,” he said.
The game can be viewed on ESPN+ or 96.9 The Game.
