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The college basketball season is two weeks old and already UCF has a knack for winning close games.
The Knights (3-0) have three come-from-behind, single-digit victories on their home court going into Tuesday night's game against Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee Tech in Orlando, Fla.
UCF has had time to prepare for Tennessee Tech (3-2). Their last game was on Nov. 12, a 100-94 victory over Florida Atlantic. George Mason transfer Keyshawn Hall (26 points), Jordan Ivy-Curry (22) and Darius Johnson (21) combined for 69 points to become the program's first trio with 20-plus points in the same game since December 2020.
The Knights also reached 100 points for the first time in a regulation game since scoring 104 versus Houston in March 2014.
"The score never matters to me. It's our standards; it's how we play," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We win by 20 and we don't play the right way, of course, not to our standards, I'm not going to be happy. But we could lose by 15 and we played the right way and did everything we could. ... I'm OK with that."
It's worth noting that Dawkins and his staff have effectively managed a somewhat downsized roster.
Jaylin Sellers, UCF's leading scorer last season at 15.9 points per game, was injured during a preseason game in October. Redshirt freshman Mikey Williams (left leg) has not played in the regular season, either.
Tennessee Tech had its three-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 83-58 loss to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
The Golden Eagles lost their season-opener at Georgia 83-78, but head coach John Pelphrey said he likes his team's potential. He emphasized the importance of reducing live-ball turnovers and keeping opponents off the offensive glass.
"(The players) just don't know how good they can be, and that's our job (as coaches) - to encourage them, to inspire them and to hold them accountable," Pelphrey said.
Jaylon Johnson averages 12.4 points per game after leading Tennessee Tech with 13 on Saturday.
--Field Level Media
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