On Saturday, the BYU basketball team traveled to Orlando, Florida and took down the UCF Knights in a gritty road victory. In what was a back-and-forth game from start to finish, but it was the BYU offense that dominated to close out the game and earn BYU an 81-75 victory.

Keep in mind, the Cougars had struggled in close games this season. The win over Baylor on Tuesday was the first time BYU had won a close game this season. On Saturday afternoon, BYU did not look like a team that had struggled in late-game situations. With just over four minutes remaining in the game, BYU and UCF were tied at 65. BYU’s next five possessions went as follows:

1. Riche Saunders sinks a three to give BYU a 68-65 lead
2. Richie Saunders makes a driving layup to give BYU a 70-67 lead
3. Egor Demin three gives BYU a 73-69 lead
4. Keba Keita scoops up a Mawot Mag miss and puts it back to give BYU a 77-71 lead
5. Mawot Mag stepback jumper gives BYU a 77-71 lead

After that point, the Knights started fouling to extend the game. BYU scored on five consecutive possessions to close out this game.

Mawot Mag was the headline in this game. On an afternoon where BYU didn’t get much scoring from Egor Demin or Kanon Catchings, Mawot Mag stepped up with 19 points on 6/10 shooting. Mag made timely buckets throughout the night, and he was also tasked with defending UCF’s best scorers.

Richie Saunders finished the game with a game-high 22 points on 8/14 shooting. Saunders was key for the Cougars down the stretch.

BYU also got key contributions from veterans Trevin Knell and Keba Keita. Keita was awesome down the stretch, blocking multiple UCF shot attempts as the Knights were trying to get back into the game. He also had the critical putback to extend BYU’s lead in the closing minutes.

Trevin Knell finished with 15 points on 4/9 shooting. When the Cougars were struggling offensively in the first half, Knell made some crucial threes to keep BYU in the game.

With the win, BYU improves to 6-4 in conference play. It’s also the fourth consecutive win for BYU in Big 12 play, something the Cougars have never done before.

BYU returns home on Tuesday night for what will be a massive game against Arizona.