By Ken Cross
ORLANDO, Fla. – Dynamic Duos have been a reoccurring allusion throughout history, so UCF Knights guards Keyshawn Hall and Darius Johnson showed why they fit this role inside of college basketball.
Hall scored 26 points and Johnson netted 23 and UCF outlasted Kansas State, 80-76. It marked the Knights’ second consecutive win after dropping seven in a row in the relentless Big 12.
“We had an emphasis on them,” said Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang. “Sometimes you just need dudes to be dudes and they were dudes tonight and then making free throws down the stretch.”
Freshman center Mustapha Thiam had 10 points with 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. With eight blocks, he was two off of an unlikely triple-double because those generally feature points, rebounds, and assists.
“I think he has grown a lot since we started league play,” said Knights coach Johnny Dawkins. “I watched how he played in the preseason to where he is now, just his activity has picked up so much more.”
Thiam is well-known for his length and athletic ability in his first season of college basketball. He posted two games with six blocks before setting the UCF record on Wednesday.
“You have to have somebody who can protect the rim, especially in this league because you have so many players that can go off the bounce and get to the basket and you have so many post players that can score down low.”
Hall and Jackson were dominant in scoring and breaking down defenses off the drive. Hall made 10-of-12 free throws while Jackson was complementary in posting four three-pointers.
“They are two experienced players who have been scorers throughout their career in college,” said Dawkins. “It is always challenging for everyone. I thought they both did a good job of being patient.”
Johnson had 15 points at halftime as he made a pair of threads to give UCF a 14-6 lead with 16:03 remaining in the first half.
The Knights trailed 34-31 with 4:04 remaining in the first half before they held the Wildcats scoreless Hall scored seven quick points to end the half as he broke down the Kansas State defense for three layups and added a free throw to convert the old-school three-point play.
“I thought our guys played with a lot of energy,” commented Dawkins. “They made big plays for us defensively. That’s what we have to have. In this league, you have to be able to defend. I thought our guys stepped up and had some stretches where they defended really well.”
The dynamic duo scored on successive possessions at the beginning of the second half when Hall was fouled on a layup and made his free throw before Johnson hit a three from the left side of the circle. The aggressive mentality with the basketball allowed UCF to extend its lead to 47-36 with 17:16 remaining.
Cat-aclysmic Ending: Kansas State dropped its fourth game in a row after winning five straight. Wins over Iowa State, Kansas, and Arizona had pushed the Wildcats to 7-6 in the league after a 1-6 beginning to league play.
Guard Max Jones was instrumental for the Wildcats with his season high of 22 points in 33 minutes and he helped K-State stay within striking distance.
“All that stuff doesn’t matter if you don’t get the ‘“W,” expressed Jones. “Everyone on our team – we do whatever it is to help us win and we didn’t do that today.”
With the success that the ‘Cats have had throughout the season, Dawkins knew his Knights would have a tough matchup.
“They have a huge front line and some active wings,” he said. ”For the most part, we did our jobs defensively and we secured the ball a fair amount of times.”