BYU Basketball Holds On to Beat UCF for First Conference Win

On Saturday afternoon, the BYU basketball team traveled to Florida and won its first conference game in the Big 12. The Cougars had a 57-44 lead with seven minutes remaining and UCF slowly clawed back into the game, going on a 14-2 run and trimming BYU's lead to one with 2:00 remaining. 

BYU held UCF scoreless after that run and won the game 63-58, despite missing multiple free throws down the stretch. Winning road games in the Big 12 is a major challenge, but BYU responded admirably after dropping its first two games in conference play. The win over UCF was BYU's first true road win of the season.

Aly Khalifa led all scorers with 17 points on 6/12 shooting. Khalifa, who normally makes an impact for BYU's offense as a passer, took on a different role on Saturday. UCF's switching defense often left Khalifa open and he made the Knights pay.

Dallin Hall, in this author's opinion, was the player of the game. Hall only had three points on 1/3 shooting but he had 6 assists. Most importantly, he controlled the pace for BYU's offense against a UCF defense that is one of the most aggressive and athletic defenses in the country.

Trevin Knell continues to shoot the ball well in conference play. Knell scored 14 on 5/12 from the floor including 4/9 from three. 

Richie Saunders quietly played a really nice game. Saunders had eight points in just 22 minutes and BYU was +10 when he was on the floor.

The Cougars return home to take on Iowa State on Tuesday.

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