Mag, Saunders lead BYU past UCF 81-75

Mawot Mag scored 16 second-half points and Richie Saunders tallied 22 for the game as BYU used a strong second-half to pull out an 81-75 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.

Author Joseph Hovey
Mag, Saunders lead BYU past UCF 81-75Mag, Saunders lead BYU past UCF 81-75
Box Score
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Mawot Mag scored 16 second-half points and Richie Saunders tallied 22 for the game as BYU used a strong second-half to pull out an 81-75 win over UCF in a back-and-forth, physical contest on Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.

“It felt good to get that win,” said BYU head coach Kevin Young. “This was a great environment. UCF has a great team. We knew they were going to be a challenge. I’m proud of the way our guys came out of the locker room and responded well in the second half.”

With the win in Orlando, the Cougars (15-6, 6-4) extend their win streak to four games.

The Cougars and Knights were tied at 68 with four minutes to play when Saunders scored on back-to-back possessions with a 3-pointer and reverse lay-in on a slicing drive to the basket. UCF banked a jumper to come within one at 70-69 with three minutes remaining when Egor Demin stepped up and knocked down his own 3-pointer to extend BYU’s fragile lead.

The Cougars answered each Knight comeback bid in the final minutes with Mag and Keba Keita combining for a handful of key plays down the stretch. Keita scored a putback bucket and Mag drained a jumper in the key to give BYU a 77-71 with 1:20 remaining. Keita then drained a pair of free throws and posted a pair of score-snuffing blocks as the Cougars held UCF scoreless over the final 2:32 of play.

Saunders’ 22 points came on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Mag came out of the locker room on fire in the second half, scoring 13 of BYU’s first 15 second-half points and finishing the day with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from distance. Mag also added five assists, three rebounds and a steal to his shooting prowess on Saturday.

Trevin Knell and Keba Keita added two more double-figure scoring performances for the Cougars in Orlando. Knell knocked down four 3-pointers, including a 4-point play on his way to 15 points. Keita posted 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Despite hitting just a single shot from the field, Demin distributed the ball to the tune of six assists.

BYU shot 48-percent from the field to UCF’s 37 and recorded 22 assists on 28 made field goals while the Knights assisted on 10-of-23 makes. The Cougars 14 triples on 32 attempts overcame UCF’s eight on 26. While UCF made 21-of-25 free throws to BYU’s 11-of-19, the Cougars flipped the switch from 2-of-6 in the first half to 9-of-13 in the second.

The Knights kept things tight with 18 points off of 17 BYU turnovers but the Cougars tightened up the ball handling in the second half and gave it away just five times while forcing seven from UCF.

First Half
A physical first half of play opened with BYU taking a quick 8-2 lead with 3-pointers from Saunders and Knell along with an alley-oop slam from Keita courtesy Demin. UCF then set the tone for the remainder of the half with handsy, opportunistic defense that forced four early Cougar turnovers leading to each of the Knights’ first seven points.

BYU responded to UCF’s run with 3-pointers from Mawot Mag and Saunders along with a Saunders drive and score in transition. The Cougars led 16-12 when the Knights heated up from the field and used a 12-3 run to lead 24-19 with 9:35 remaining in the first.

BYU retook the lead moments later with consecutive transition triples from Knell and Saunders while its defense held UCF scoreless over a two-minute stretch. A 25-24 lead at the 7:18 mark would be the Cougars’ last of the period with the Knights using free throw trips and fastbreak scoring to keep a step ahead of BYU.

While momentum swung UCF’s way, Traore and Knell led BYU’s reply. Down 30-25 with five minutes before the break, Traore took passes from Hall and scored at the rim on consecutive possessions to bring BYU within one at 30-29. Knell scored the Cougars’ final seven points of the half in a 91-second stretch. The senior sharpshooter drained his third triple from the left wing with 1:31 to play then took BYU’s final possession and registered a 4-point play with another 3-pointer and ensuing free throw.

Knell led BYU at the break with four 3-pointers and 13 points while Saunders and Traore added 11 and seven, respectively. The Cougars outshot UCF 47-41 percent from the field but it was 3-pointers, free throws and points off turnovers that wrote the story of the half. BYU’s 8-of-17 performance from beyond the arc countered the Knights’ 14 points off of 12 Cougar turnovers. UCF’s 10-of-13 first half at the free throw line helped it to the lead at the break while BYU went 2-of-6 from the charity stripe to start.

Second Half
BYU opened the half on an 8-0 run with both a 3-point shot and 3-point play from Mag along with a thunderous Keita slam dunk courtesy Demin. Mag continued to make plays for the Cougars with a pair of free throw makes, 3-pointer and scoring drive to the rim. With Mag leading the charge, BYU led 53-49 at the half’s 11:29 mark.

UCF responded with a 9-2 run to retake a 58-55 lead with eight minutes to play. Mag and Saunders were again in the thick of it as the Cougars countered and regained the lead for the final time.

Mag drove and kicked to Saunders for a game-tying triple with 7:25 to play. Moments later, mag dropped a pass off to Keita who floated a shot in the lane and put BYU in front 60-58. Saunders’ sixth 3-pointer of the game put BYU up 63-60 with 5:42 to play but UCF continued to fight back and quickly tied the game twice more.

The Cougars and Knights were tied at 68 with four minutes to play when Saunders scored on back-to-back possessions with a 3-pointer and reverse lay-in on a slicing drive to the basket. UCF banked a jumper to come within one at 70-69 with three minutes remaining when Egor Demin stepped up and knocked down his own 3-pointer to extend BYU’s fragile lead.

The Cougars answered each Knight comeback bid in the final minutes with Mag and Keba Keita combining for a handful of key plays down the stretch. Keita scored a putback bucket and Mag drained a jumper in the key to give BYU a 77-71 with 1:20 remaining. Keita then drained a pair of free throws and posted a pair of score-snuffing blocks as the Cougars held UCF scoreless over the final 2:32 of play.

The Cougars return home to the Marriott Center for their first Big 12 showdown with Arizona on Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. MST. Watch BYU take-on the Wildcats on ESPN or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.