UCF rallies to upset No. 13 Texas A&M

Oct 23, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins talks to media during the Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Benny Williams scored his only points on a go-ahead dunk with 45 seconds left and UCF erased a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes to upset No. 13 Texas A&M 64-61 Monday night in Orlando in the season opener for both teams.

UCF fans stormed the court after A&M missed three attempts at a tying 3-pointer on the game's final possession after Jordan Ivy-Curry split a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left.

The Knights (1-0) closed with a 14-2 run to stun the Aggies (0-1), who led most of the game and pushed their lead to 59-50 on Wade Taylor IV's 3-pointer from the UCF logo with 4:52 left.

UCF senior guard Darius Johnson scored a game-high 24 points and dished five assists, including to Williams for the winning points. Ivy-Curry, a transfer from UTSA, added 16 points and J.J. Taylor, whose putback dunk with 1:31 left cut A&M's lead to 61-60, contributed 10.

Pharrel Payne led the Aggies with 15 points. He also grabbed six rebounds before fouling out with 3:11 left. Taylor IV tallied 13 points and seven assists.

After Johnson sank a tie-breaking 3-pointer 17 seconds into the second half, Taylor made back-to-back 3-pointers to trigger a 20-7 run.

UCF scored only seven points during a span of nearly 10 minutes, but the Knights rallied to pull off the upset.

The teams entered the break tied at 29 after UCF took its first lead with 3:19 left on Ivy Curry's 3-pointer.

The Knights started slow. They didn't score their first points of the season until more than four minutes had elapsed and missed 11 of their first 13 shots, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range. They made six of their next nine from behind the arc, though, and eventually erased a 10-point deficit.

Texas A&M mustered only four points the final seven minutes of the half.