The Knights came out of halftime with a 30-23 lead that was built up in large part by accurate free-throw shooting late in the opening 20 minutes. Then, starting at the 17:25 mark of the second half, they went on a 14-2 run that was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Taylor and Dawkins. By the end of the spurt more than six minutes later, UCF’s lead had grown to 46-29. That advantage would reach as much as 27 points and would not fall below 14 for the rest of the game.