UCF men’s basketball thwarted at No. 23 Texas Tech
LUBBOCK, Texas — Darrion Williams had 13 points and 13 rebounds, Kerwin Walton scored 12 points on four 3-pointers before halftime and No. 23 Texas Tech never trailed on its way to a 66-59 win over UCF on Saturday. The Red Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak.
Williams had a jumper with 1:46 left that put the Red Raiders (17-6, 6-4 Big 12) up 60-57.
That came on the possession after UCF (13-9, 4-6) missed a chance to tie the game for the first time since 4-4 when C.J. Walker missed the first of his two free-throw attempts. The Red Raiders sealed the game with six free throws in the final 41 seconds, four by Joe Toussaint and two by Chance McMillian.
Toussaint also had a steal with 1:31 left and finished with 11 points. Warren Washington, after missing Tech’s previous game because of illness, had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers each had 14 points for the Knights. Walker had 13 points and eight rebounds.
While Texas Tech never trailed, the Red Raiders could never pull away from a UCF team that was coming off a win over then-No. 18 Oklahoma and was trying to get its third win this season against a top-25 team.
Pop Isaacs was averaging 19.4 points in Big 12 games for Tech but missed his first seven shots before a 3-pointer with just over 14 minutes left made it 41-36.
McMillian didn’t score his first points until a layup with 7:14 left, then added a 3-pointer for a 56-48 lead.
BIG PICTURE
UCF: The Knights, who also beat Kansas earlier this season, have never won three games vs. top-25 teams in the same season. … UCF was playing without forward Ibrahima Diallo, their leading rebounder, because of a knee injury.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders bounced back a week after losing at home for the first time this season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Texas Tech had slipped eight spots in this week’s poll after losing consecutive games for the first time this season. The Red Raiders then made that three losses in a row after falling to No. 13 Baylor on Tuesday night. They likely will drop out of the new poll on Monday.
UP NEXT
UCF plays at fellow Big 12 newcomer No. 21 BYU on Tuesday night. The Cougars won 63-58 in Orlando on Jan. 13.
Texas Tech hosts fourth-ranked Kansas on Monday night.