UCF

UTAH

No. 14 seed UCF uses 24-3 second-half run to beat No. 11 seed Utah 87-72 in Big 12 tourney opener

AP
Mar 11, 2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Keyshawn Hall scored 23 points to lead four UCF Knights players in double-figures scoring, and the No. 14 seed Knights used a big run out of halftime to bury No. 11 seed Utah Utes 87-72 in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday night.

Darius Johnson added 20 points, Jordan Ivy-Curry had 15 and Moustapha Thiam finished with 14 for the Knights (17-15), who face sixth-seeded Kansas on Wednesday night as they try to play their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Utah (16-16) opened the game with a 21-9 run, but the Knights slowly chipped away at the deficit, and Hall's 3-pointer got them within 40-39 at halftime. He had six more points during a 24-3 run to start the second half, giving the Knights a 63-43 lead with just under 13 minutes to go that carried them to the finish.

Keanu Dawes had 21 points to lead the Utes, who also lost to UCF on Feb. 23, the day before coach Craig Smith was fired.

Josh Eilert, who led West Virginia at the Big 12 Tournament as an interim coach last year, did the same for the Utes on Tuesday night. The school already has announced the hiring of Alex Jensen, one of the stars of their 1998 Final Four team and an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, to be their new head coach once the season has concluded.

UCF won thanks to some brilliant guard play, but its lack of production in the paint could be troublesome, especially with 7-foot-1 center Hunter Dickinson and the rest of the Jayhawks waiting in the next round.

Utah simply couldn't overcome its second-half start, which at one point included 10 consecutive missed field-goal attempts.

Hall's 3-pointer that sent UCF into halftime with all the momentum.

Utah was 4 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Knights play Kansas on Wednesday night. They lost to the Jayhawks twice in the regular season.

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1st Half
UCF
Knights
39
UTAH
Utes
40

Time		Play	Score
20:00		(Knights gains possession)
19:48		Mike Sharavjamts personal foul
19:35	+2	Nils Machowski makes two point jump shot	2-0
19:15		Jake Wahlin misses three point jump shot
19:13		Dallan Coleman defensive rebound
19:05		Keyshawn Hall misses two point layup
19:03		Moustapha Thiam offensive rebound
18:59	+2	Moustapha Thiam makes two point layup	4-0
18:49	+2	Mike Sharavjamts makes two point dunk (Lawson Lovering assists)	4-2
18:37	+3	Nils Machowski makes three point jump shot (Darius Johnson assists)	7-2
18:17		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
18:15		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
18:01		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
17:59		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
17:48		Lawson Lovering misses two point jump shot
17:46		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
17:38		Dallan Coleman turnover (lost ball)
17:19	+2	Lawson Lovering makes two point layup	7-4
17:05		Nils Machowski turnover (Lawson Lovering steals)
16:56		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
16:54		Lawson Lovering offensive rebound
16:48	+2	Lawson Lovering makes two point dunk	7-6
16:39		Darius Johnson misses two point jump shot
16:37		Gabe Madsen defensive rebound
16:20		Gabe Madsen turnover (Darius Johnson steals)
16:13		Mike Sharavjamts blocks Nils Machowski's three point jump shot
16:11		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
16:00	+2	Lawson Lovering makes two point dunk (Mike Sharavjamts assists)	7-8
15:39		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
15:37		Gabe Madsen defensive rebound
15:26	+2	Jake Wahlin makes two point dunk (Gabe Madsen assists)	7-10
15:26		Knights 30 second timeout
15:26		TV timeout
15:18		Moustapha Thiam misses three point jump shot
15:15		Utes defensive rebound
15:02		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
15:00		Jake Wahlin offensive rebound
14:58	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point layup (Jake Wahlin assists)	7-12
14:38		Jordan Ivy-Curry turnover (Gabe Madsen steals)
14:28		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
14:26		Keanu Dawes offensive rebound
14:21		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
14:19		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
14:03		Keyshawn Hall misses three point jump shot
14:01		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
13:35		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
13:33		Zach Keller offensive rebound
13:29		Utes turnover (shot clock violation)
13:11		Keyshawn Hall misses two point layup
13:09		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
12:59		Miro Little turnover (traveling)
12:35		Jordan Ivy-Curry misses three point jump shot
12:33		Zach Keller defensive rebound
12:21	+2	Zach Keller makes two point dunk (Jake Wahlin assists)	7-14
12:08		Darius Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Gabe Madsen steals)
11:57		Darius Johnson personal foul (Gabe Madsen draws the foul)
11:57		TV timeout
11:55	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point alley-oop dunk (Miro Little assists)	7-16
11:25	+2	Benny Williams makes two point layup	9-16
11:17	+2	Jake Wahlin makes two point layup (Keanu Dawes assists)	9-18
11:17		Dallan Coleman shooting foul (Jake Wahlin draws the foul)
11:17	+1	Jake Wahlin makes regular free throw 1 of 1	9-19
11:06		JJ Taylor misses three point jump shot
11:04		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
10:56		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
10:54		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
10:54		Moustapha Thiam turnover (bad pass)
10:46	+2	Zach Keller makes two point layup	9-21
10:30		Miro Little personal foul
10:20		Benny Williams misses two point layup
10:18		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
10:09		Zach Keller turnover (traveling)
9:57	+3	Darius Johnson makes three point jump shot	12-21
9:39		Miro Little misses three point jump shot
9:37		Zach Keller offensive rebound
9:29	+2	Hunter Erickson makes two point jump shot	12-23
9:13		Darius Johnson misses two point layup
9:10		Knights offensive rebound
9:03	+3	Moustapha Thiam makes three point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists)	15-23
8:48		Miro Little turnover (Nils Machowski steals)
8:46		Miro Little personal foul
8:35		Moustapha Thiam misses three point jump shot
8:33		Tyler Hendricks offensive rebound
8:29	+2	Tyler Hendricks makes two point layup	17-23
8:18		Zach Keller misses two point layup
8:16		Keanu Dawes offensive rebound
8:13	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point layup	17-25
8:06		Zach Keller shooting foul (Moustapha Thiam draws the foul)
8:06	+1	Moustapha Thiam makes regular free throw 1 of 2	18-25
8:06		Moustapha Thiam misses regular free throw 2 of 2
8:06		Lawson Lovering defensive rebound
7:38		Utes 30 second timeout
7:38		TV timeout
7:34		Gabe Madsen misses two point layup
7:32		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
7:05		Darius Johnson misses two point layup
7:03		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
6:55		Lawson Lovering misses two point jump shot
6:53		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
6:48		Hunter Erickson shooting foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
6:48	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	19-25
6:48	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2	20-25
6:25		Mike Sharavjamts misses two point jump shot
6:23		Lawson Lovering offensive rebound
6:18	+2	Lawson Lovering makes two point layup	20-27
6:05		Moustapha Thiam misses three point jump shot
6:03		Mike Sharavjamts defensive rebound
5:56		Moustapha Thiam shooting foul (Lawson Lovering draws the foul)
5:56		Lawson Lovering misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:56	+1	Lawson Lovering makes regular free throw 2 of 2	20-28
5:46		Jake Wahlin personal foul
5:39		Tyler Hendricks turnover (lost ball)
5:27		Keyshawn Hall shooting foul (Mike Sharavjamts draws the foul)
5:27		Mike Sharavjamts misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:27		Mike Sharavjamts misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:27		Jordan Ivy-Curry defensive rebound
5:16		Keyshawn Hall misses three point jump shot
5:14		Hunter Erickson defensive rebound
5:04		Gabe Madsen turnover (Jordan Ivy-Curry steals)
4:56	+3	Tyler Hendricks makes three point jump shot (Jordan Ivy-Curry assists)	23-28
4:35		Lawson Lovering turnover (lost ball)
4:23	+2	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes two point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists)	25-28
4:07		Tyler Hendricks shooting foul (Gabe Madsen draws the foul)
4:07	+1	Gabe Madsen makes regular free throw 1 of 3	25-29
4:07		Gabe Madsen misses regular free throw 2 of 3
4:07	+1	Gabe Madsen makes regular free throw 3 of 3	25-30
3:55		Miro Little personal foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
3:55		TV timeout
3:55	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	26-30
3:55		Keyshawn Hall misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:55		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
3:25		Keanu Dawes misses three point jump shot
3:23		Keyshawn Hall defensive rebound
3:10		Benny Williams misses two point dunk
3:08		Mike Sharavjamts defensive rebound
3:02		Tyler Hendricks personal foul
2:58	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point dunk (Zach Keller assists)	26-32
2:37	+3	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes three point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists)	29-32
2:19		Benny Williams personal foul (Zach Keller draws the foul)
2:19	+1	Zach Keller makes regular free throw 1 of 2	29-33
2:19		Zach Keller misses regular free throw 2 of 2
2:19		Knights defensive rebound
2:13	+3	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes three point jump shot (Darius Johnson assists)	32-33
2:03		Nils Machowski personal foul (Gabe Madsen draws the foul)
2:03	+1	Gabe Madsen makes regular free throw 1 of 2	32-34
2:03	+1	Gabe Madsen makes regular free throw 2 of 2	32-35
1:37	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point jump shot	34-35
1:12	+3	Hunter Erickson makes three point jump shot (Keanu Dawes assists)	34-38
1:00		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
0:58		Nils Machowski offensive rebound
0:51	+2	Moustapha Thiam makes two point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists)	36-38
0:28		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
0:26		Mike Sharavjamts offensive rebound
0:22	+2	Mike Sharavjamts makes two point dunk	36-40
0:03	+3	Keyshawn Hall makes three point jump shot (Darius Johnson assists)	39-40
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
UCF
Knights
48
UTAH
Utes
32

Time		Play	Score
19:42		Jake Wahlin misses three point jump shot
19:40		Keyshawn Hall defensive rebound
19:10	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	41-40
18:54	+2	Mike Sharavjamts makes two point jump shot	41-42
18:41	+2	Keyshawn Hall makes two point jump shot	43-42
18:20		Moustapha Thiam blocks Keanu Dawes's two point layup
18:18		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
18:14	+3	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes three point jump shot (Nils Machowski assists)	46-42
18:14		Utes 30 second timeout
18:12		TV timeout
17:58		Mike Sharavjamts misses two point jump shot
17:57		Knights defensive rebound
17:44		Keyshawn Hall misses two point jump shot
17:41		Jordan Ivy-Curry offensive rebound
17:36	+2	Moustapha Thiam makes two point layup (Darius Johnson assists)	48-42
17:14		Jake Wahlin misses three point jump shot
17:12		Darius Johnson defensive rebound
17:00		Jake Wahlin personal foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
16:59	+3	Darius Johnson makes three point jump shot (Jordan Ivy-Curry assists)	51-42
16:34		Mason Madsen misses two point jump shot
16:32		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
16:21		Gabe Madsen shooting foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
16:21	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	52-42
16:21	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2	53-42
16:01		Keanu Dawes misses three point jump shot
15:59		Mason Madsen offensive rebound
15:56		Mason Madsen misses two point layup
15:54		Darius Johnson defensive rebound
15:52		Gabe Madsen shooting foul (Moustapha Thiam draws the foul)
15:52		TV timeout
15:52	+1	Moustapha Thiam makes regular free throw 1 of 2	54-42
15:52		Moustapha Thiam misses regular free throw 2 of 2
15:52		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
15:33		Hunter Erickson misses three point jump shot
15:30		Knights defensive rebound
15:16	+2	Keyshawn Hall makes two point layup	56-42
14:56		Mason Madsen misses three point jump shot
14:54		Miro Little offensive rebound
14:45		Moustapha Thiam shooting foul (Keanu Dawes draws the foul)
14:45	+1	Keanu Dawes makes regular free throw 1 of 2	56-43
14:45		Keanu Dawes misses regular free throw 2 of 2
14:45		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
14:30	+2	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes two point jump shot	58-43
14:30		Hunter Erickson shooting foul (Jordan Ivy-Curry draws the foul)
14:30	+1	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes regular free throw 1 of 1	59-43
14:15		Benny Williams shooting foul (Hunter Erickson draws the foul)
14:15		Hunter Erickson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
14:15		Hunter Erickson misses regular free throw 2 of 2
14:15		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
14:01		Lawson Lovering personal foul
13:49		Jordan Ivy-Curry misses two point jump shot
13:47		Gabe Madsen defensive rebound
13:39		Benny Williams blocks Miro Little's two point layup
13:37		Nils Machowski defensive rebound
13:31	+2	Keyshawn Hall makes two point dunk (Darius Johnson assists)	61-43
13:27		Utes 30 second timeout
13:16		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
13:14		Tyler Hendricks defensive rebound
12:59	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	63-43
12:43	+2	Zach Keller makes two point jump shot (Mason Madsen assists)	63-45
12:43		Tyler Hendricks shooting foul (Zach Keller draws the foul)
12:43		Zach Keller misses regular free throw 1 of 1
12:39		Keanu Dawes offensive rebound
12:37		Darius Johnson personal foul (Gabe Madsen draws the foul)
12:25	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point dunk	63-47
11:59		Zach Keller shooting foul (Benny Williams draws the foul)
11:59		TV timeout
11:59		Benny Williams misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:59		Benny Williams misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:59		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
11:36	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point dunk (Jake Wahlin assists)	63-49
11:10	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	65-49
11:01		Jake Wahlin turnover (Darius Johnson steals)
10:55		Jordan Ivy-Curry misses three point jump shot
10:53		Moustapha Thiam offensive rebound
10:50		Moustapha Thiam turnover (Mike Sharavjamts steals)
10:44		Tyler Hendricks shooting foul (Jake Wahlin draws the foul)
10:44	+1	Jake Wahlin makes regular free throw 1 of 2	65-50
10:44	+1	Jake Wahlin makes regular free throw 2 of 2	65-51
10:36		Jake Wahlin shooting foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
10:36	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	66-51
10:36	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2	67-51
10:11		Moustapha Thiam shooting foul (Keanu Dawes draws the foul)
10:11	+1	Keanu Dawes makes regular free throw 1 of 2	67-52
10:11	+1	Keanu Dawes makes regular free throw 2 of 2	67-53
9:45		Keyshawn Hall turnover (Keanu Dawes steals)
9:42		Jordan Ivy-Curry shooting foul (Keanu Dawes draws the foul)
9:42	+1	Keanu Dawes makes regular free throw 1 of 2	67-54
9:42	+1	Keanu Dawes makes regular free throw 2 of 2	67-55
9:19		Moustapha Thiam misses two point layup
9:17		Moustapha Thiam offensive rebound
9:15		Moustapha Thiam turnover (Miro Little steals)
9:11	+3	Miro Little makes three point jump shot (Jake Wahlin assists)	67-58
9:04		Knights 30 second timeout
8:43		Miro Little personal foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
8:43	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	68-58
8:43	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2	69-58
8:35		Jake Wahlin turnover (Jordan Ivy-Curry steals)
8:26	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	71-58
8:19		Zach Keller misses two point jump shot
8:17		Zach Keller offensive rebound
8:14		Moustapha Thiam blocks Zach Keller's two point jump shot
8:12		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
8:05	+2	Moustapha Thiam makes two point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists)	73-58
8:05		Zach Keller shooting foul (Moustapha Thiam draws the foul)
8:05	+1	Moustapha Thiam makes regular free throw 1 of 1	74-58
7:55		Lawson Lovering misses two point jump shot
7:53		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
7:39		Keyshawn Hall turnover (Keanu Dawes steals)
7:32		Keanu Dawes misses two point layup
7:30		Miro Little offensive rebound
7:20		Lawson Lovering misses two point jump shot
7:18		Lawson Lovering offensive rebound
7:13		Lawson Lovering misses two point jump shot
7:11		Moustapha Thiam defensive rebound
6:47		Miro Little personal foul (Jordan Ivy-Curry draws the foul)
6:47		TV timeout
6:47	+1	Jordan Ivy-Curry makes regular free throw 1 of 2	75-58
6:47		Jordan Ivy-Curry misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:47		Gabe Madsen defensive rebound
6:34		Jake Wahlin turnover (Nils Machowski steals)
6:26	+2	Keyshawn Hall makes two point layup (Nils Machowski assists)	77-58
6:15		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
6:13		Keanu Dawes offensive rebound
6:10	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point layup	77-60
5:38		Dior Johnson turnover (traveling)
5:24	+3	Gabe Madsen makes three point jump shot (Hunter Erickson assists)	77-63
5:07		Dior Johnson turnover (Gabe Madsen steals)
5:02		Keanu Dawes misses two point layup
5:00		Lawson Lovering offensive rebound
4:57		Moustapha Thiam blocks Lawson Lovering's two point layup
4:55		Darius Johnson defensive rebound
4:45		Nils Machowski misses three point jump shot
4:43		Mike Sharavjamts defensive rebound
4:32	+3	Gabe Madsen makes three point jump shot (Mike Sharavjamts assists)	77-66
4:22		Gabe Madsen personal foul (Darius Johnson draws the foul)
4:22	+1	Darius Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	78-66
4:22	+1	Darius Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	79-66
4:05	+2	Keanu Dawes makes two point dunk (Mike Sharavjamts assists)	79-68
3:33		Keyshawn Hall turnover (Mike Sharavjamts steals)
3:33		TV timeout
3:16	+2	Lawson Lovering makes two point layup (Hunter Erickson assists)	79-70
2:42		Nils Machowski misses three point jump shot
2:40		Jordan Ivy-Curry offensive rebound
2:30	+3	Nils Machowski makes three point jump shot (Moustapha Thiam assists)	82-70
2:10		Hunter Erickson misses three point jump shot
2:08		Mike Sharavjamts offensive rebound
2:02		Mike Sharavjamts misses two point layup
1:58		Mike Sharavjamts offensive rebound
1:52		Gabe Madsen turnover (Nils Machowski steals)
1:28	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	84-70
1:16		Mike Sharavjamts misses three point jump shot
1:14		Keyshawn Hall defensive rebound
1:08		Gabe Madsen personal foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
1:08	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	85-70
1:08		Keyshawn Hall misses regular free throw 2 of 2
1:08		Keanu Dawes defensive rebound
1:03	+2	Hunter Erickson makes two point dunk (Mike Sharavjamts assists)	85-72
0:55		Keanu Dawes personal foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul)
0:55	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2	86-72
0:55	+1	Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2	87-72
0:49		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
0:47		Darius Johnson defensive rebound
0:36		Darius Johnson turnover (bad pass)
0:28		Gabe Madsen misses three point jump shot
0:26		Poohpha Warakulnukroh defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Poohpha Warakulnukroh defensive rebound