The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats got off to a terrific start and had a near-miracle finish in regulation, but it wasn’t enough to come away with a win against Central Florida. The Knights prevailed 101-96 in overtime by engineering a 35-point turnaround, then holding for a wild victory at the CFE Arena in Orlando.
Bethune-Cookman came out smoking, hitting 11 of their first 15 shots to take a 27-10 lead midway through the first half. LaRon Smith’s dunk gave the Wildcats a 34-16 advantage, three minutes before halftime. BCU led 39-26 at the break.
Shaheed Davis spearheaded a UCF surge to start the second half. Davis scored 8 points in the span of 1:44 to help bring the Knights to within 41-39 with 18:16 remaining. Matt Williams’ three-pointer gave UCF their first lead of the game, 44-43 with 17:22 left.
The Knights poured it on, extending their lead to 68-51 with 8:32 remaining. They needed every point of it.
A furious 16-3 run by the Wildcats cut the lead to 73-70, capped by a Ricky Johnson three-pointer with 4:20 left. Two Tanksley Efianayi free throws with only 1:34 remaining gave UCF a 79-71 lead.
Bethune-Cookman’s Jordan Potts, who led all scorers with 35 points, scored 10 points in the final 1:06. His three-pointer with four seconds left tied the game at 84 and send it to overtime.
In the extra period, Central Florida scored on every possession, putting up 17 points to 12 for the Wildcats to come away with the victory.
Daiquan Walker put up a double-double for the Knights, scoring 21 points and dishing out 10 assists. Shaheed Davis added 20 while Williams tallied 13.
For Bethune-Cookman, Potts lit it up for 35 points, including 7 of 12 from behind the three-point line. Mario Moody added 19.
UCF shot 54 percent from the field, while BCU connected on 49 percent of their shots. They outrebounded the Wildcats 40-26, but turned the ball over 15 times. Bethune-Cookman committed only 6 turnovers.
UCF (6-4) hosts No. 20 George Washington on December 29. Bethune-Cookman (4-8) travels to Brown on December 28.
