ORLANDO, Fla. – Eleven different players touched the scoring column for UCF Friday evening, as the homestanding Knights defeated visiting Bethune-Cookman 98-54 in men's basketball action inside Addition Financial Arena.
 
Bench points and points stemming off turnovers were the keys to the game for both teams. However, both went positively in favor of the host Knights.
 
UCF (9-3) turned 26 BCU turnovers into 37 points en route to its seventh win at home this season. For Bethune-Cookman (5-7), it was the Wildcats third loss in as many games after starting the month of December with back-to-back wins against Incarnate Word and South Carolina State.
 
Leading the ballgame 44-21 at the half, the Knights opened the second half on a 16-5 run, extending the lead at 60-26.
 
Dhashon Dyson, a senior guard from Chicago, knocked down the Cats' first three-pointer of the night with 15:12 remaining, cutting into the deficit, 60-29. A Zion Harmon three-pointer with 13:25 left allowed the Wildcats to chip into the lead further at 63-38 and force a UCF timeout – as BCU was in the midst of connecting on five of its last six shots from the field.
 
Another late 13-0 run by the Knights, sparked by dunks from C.J. Walker and Omar Payne, pushed the UCF advantage to 87-45 – as BCU was unable to get any closer.
 
In terms of bench production, UCF outscored the Wildcats 51-7 in that area. The seven points for the Maroon and Gold came via three-pointer from Seneca Willougby, as well as buckets from Reggie Ward Jr. on an alley-oop dunk and a Simeon Womack basket.
 
For UCF, the 51 points by its reserves was also a season high.
 
After falling behind early-on 6-2, Bethune-Cookman surged back behind the play of Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. and Jakobi Heady, respectively.
 
Carter-Hollinger knocked down three free throws before Heady drove to the basket for a reverse layup, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 7-6. Moments later, the Chicago native Heady sliced through the paint again for a layup stemming from a Knights turnover at midcourt. After back-to-back free throws were converted by Heady, the Wildcats had their largest lead of the night, 11-8.
 
With BCU holding an 11-8 lead just over four minutes into the first half, UCF began a 17-5 run that saw the homestanding Knights take a 28-13 advantage heading into the under-eight media timeout. During UCF's run, 10 points came off Wildcats turnovers.
 
Jaylin Sellers, Marchelus Avery and Walker were instrumental for the Knights in the run, as BCU was forced into 14 first half turnovers. But for the visitors, they were 11 of 11 from the foul line in the first half, using a perfect 6-for-6 showing by Heady, adding three from Carter-Hollinger and a pair from All-SWAC Preseason selection Harmon.
 
Antwann Jones and Sellers each knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the first half, while BCU was limited to just 0 of 5 from beyond the arc. The Cats would finish the game connecting on 4 of 16 from three-point territory.
 
For UCF, the 96 points scored was a new season-high, while it was the most points allowed by the Cats since surrendering 102 versus Southern (La.) last season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
 
UCF was topped in scoring on the night by Sellers with a game-high 19 points, followed by Avery (11), Jones (10), Walker (10) and Darius Johnson (10) all contributing double-figures. Thierno Sylla provided a team-high seven rebounds, while DeMarr Langford Jr. handed out a game-high five assists for his side.
 
The Wildcats picked up 15 points from Dyson – connecting on 2-for-5 from long range. Heady provided 14 points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds from his guard position on the court. And it was Harmon reaching double-digits with 11 points and three steals.
 
Bethune-Cookman has little time to prepare for its next contest, as the team travels to Mississippi State for the final regular season nonconference game of the 2023-24 campaign on Sunday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. CT.
 
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