UCF men’s basketball romps at home over Maine

Guard Darius Johnson came off the bench to score 16 points and lead Johnny Dawkins‘ UCF team to a 74-51 victory over Maine on Monday night.

Johnson made 5 of 6 shots, including all four of his 3-point attempts, and added three assists for the Knights (7-3).

Jaylin Sellers had 13 points and reserve Marchelus Avery scored 12 with six rebounds.

Johnson scored 10 points to help UCF build a 41-18 advantage at halftime. The Knights shot 51.7% in the first half, making 4 of 7 from 3-point range, but hit just 7 of 13 at the free-throw line. Maine shot 25.9% and made just 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Omar Payne hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half, sparking an 8-2 run, and Avery’s 3-pointer pushed the UCF lead to 56-26 with 12:15 remaining in the game.

Ibrahima Diallo had four of UCF’s nine blocked shots and Payne added three. The Knights entered play averaging 5.7 blocks per game, 15th best in the country.

Freshman reserve Logan Carey led the Black Bears (8-5) with nine points.

The Knights shot 46.4% overall and sank 8 of 19 from beyond the arc (42.1%). They finished 14 for 23 at the foul line.

Maine shot 34.4% and made just 1 of 19 from distance. The Black Bears made 6 of 12 foul shots.

“It’s important for us to understand no lead is safe,” Dawkins said. “Just because you have a big lead, it doesn’t mean a team can’t make a run and come back. The 3-point shot is the great equalizer, and our guys defended the three really well tonight. We talked about taking the ‘next-play’ mentality and coming out with the right mindset.”

UCF leads the all-time series 5-1.

The Knights will host Florida A&M on Thursday. Maine travels to play Florida International on Thursday.