Two weeks after a one-point loss in overtime at rival Utah caused a lot of folks to question the toughness and mental fortitude of first-year coach Kevin Young’s BYU basketball team, the Cougars rose up and proved their naysayers wrong once again.
BYU outplayed the homestanding and explosive UCF Knights in the final four minutes of a razor-close affair in front of 9,152 at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday afternoon and took an 81-75 Big 12 win that could pay huge dividends in March.
“To be able to close one out on the road is something we can build on, for sure,” Young told the BYU Sports Radio Network.

Since that debacle on the Hill, NCAA Tournament bubble-sitting BYU (15-6, 6-4) has now won four straight league games for the first time since the 2020-21 season in the WCC, and has set itself up nicely to make a run the second half of the Big 12 season with an eye toward finishing in the league’s top eight and earning a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Up next is a showdown with perennial national power Arizona (15-6, 9-1) at the Marriott Center on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN), but first things first. BYU should put Saturday’s gritty victory in the memory bank and call upon its second-half performance against a very talented UCF team (13-8, 4-6) that probably dropped out of Big Dance projections with its fourth-straight loss to the Cougars, dating back to last season.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” Young said. “Just proud of the way our guys came out of the locker room at halftime. I thought our response was really good.”
BYU’s play in the first half was a textbook example of how not to take care of the basketball, as the Cougars committed 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes — which UCF turned into 14 points — and trailed 40-38 at the break.
Just before halftime, Trevin Knell hit a 3-pointer and a free throw to give the Cougars a bit of momentum, and that turned out to be a portend of things to come.
Despite having outrebounded the home team 22-15 and having made eight triples, BYU trailed because the Knights were capitalizing on all those mistakes and parading to the free throw line, although they were clearly the more physical team.
The whistles started going the Cougars’ way in the second half — UCF star guard Darius Johnson picked up two quick fouls harassing BYU’s ball-handlers 40 feet from the hoop before the under 16 media timeout, and Keba Keita and Mawot Mag took over for BYU.
Yes, Keba Keita and Mawot Mag.
With BYU’s highly touted freshmen — Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings — struggling to replicate Tuesday’s overtime win over Baylor when they combined for 38 points, the transfers from Utah and Rutgers, respectively, picked up the pieces on both ends of the floor.
Mag had 16 of his 19 points in the second half and Keita added 10 points, seven rebounds and two absolutely epic blocked shots in the final seconds.
Also, Mag’s defense on the leading scorer in the Big 12, UCF’s Keyshawn Hall, was noteworthy, although it should be mentioned that Hall was saddled with early foul trouble — three in the first eight minutes, including a technical foul after exchanging heated words with an official — that limited him to 26 minutes.
He still scored 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting.
“They were outstanding,” Young said of Mag and Keita. “Just the toughness. Mawot was tremendous on both ends of the court. Keba, I mean, he is just spectacular athletically.
“Those blocks were jaw-dropping. More importantly, he hit two humongous free throws there at the end of the game, which I was really proud of him.”
It was BYU’s first win of the season after trailing at halftime and its 43rd straight win when it has had the lead with five minutes remaining in regulation.
Speaking of which, in a seesaw game that featured six lead changes and seven ties, Richie Saunders took over with a little more than four minutes remaining and the score tied at 65-65.
Saunders hit a 3-pointer and then a driving layup, and Demin followed that five-point outburst with perhaps his biggest shot to date as a Cougar, hitting a trey after having been benched a few minutes earlier for committing his fifth turnover.
Keita and Mag made shots in the final two minutes, and BYU held on despite going 2 of 6 from the charity stripe after Keita’s freebies with 46 seconds left gave it a 79-73 lead.
“Early in the game, they punked us; they absolutely punked us,” Saunders told ESPN+. “They were all over the offensive boards, they were causing turnovers. I am just super happy with our team defense.
“Mawot and Keba were special. Mawot was freaking incredible today. He was incredible,” continued Saunders, who had 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. “Keba with some big blocks at the end that sealed the deal. This was a fun game. It is always a fun environment here.”
Offensively, BYU shot 48% from the floor, 44% (14 of 32) from 3-point range and more importantly, executed well late after all those early turnovers.
Knell added 15 points and four rebounds and seldom-used guard Trey Stewart contributed eight solid minutes — primarily making his mark on the defensive end.
The Cougars assisted on 22 of their 28 made baskets and had just five turnovers in the second half.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Mag said. “Every game in the Big 12 is going to be a dogfight. I am just glad we came out with a W. … Coach challenged us during halftime to respond to their toughness, and I felt like we did that in the (second half).”
The victory moved BYU into a tie for fifth in the Big 12, which few saw coming after that foul-plagued loss at Utah.
“We definitely had our hands full,” Young said, “but we made just enough plays at the end to get it done.”
