The UCF men’s basketball team continued to do what it did during the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Saturday night from the CFE Arena: just win.

The Knights won their fourth straight game using a strong second-half performance to defeat Northern Kentucky 66-53.

However, it wasn’t easy. Both teams struggled in the first half, shooting just around 37 percent from the field. Thanks to a 25-8 run at the start of the second half to pull away from the Norse.

“We beat a very good basketball team tonight,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said after the game. “They are well coached and are one of the fastest teams we have played this year. They move that basketball up and down, make or miss, and are flying down the court. I was really proud of our guys and our effort and I was happy that we were able to play well enough to get the win.”

Tacko Fall led the Knights with 20 points and added nine rebounds. Fall was a big part of the second half offense as he scored six of the Knights’ first 11 points in the second half which gave UCF an 11-point lead.

“I thought Tacko was terrific,” Dawkins said. “He has been building towards this all season long and we have seen it coming in practice. He played terrific on both ends of the floor. The offense speaks for itself, he had 20 points tonight, but it’s what he did on the defensive end and how active he was guarding guys that were out in the perimeter. He was really effective for us tonight and I am happy with his overall development.”

Not only did the offense begin to roll in the second half, so did the Knights’ defense. After allowing Northern Kentucky to shoot 6-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first half, UCF allowed only two second-half threes on 15 attempts.

“I think our defensive intensity has really picked up for 40 minutes and that has been a difference for us,” Dawkins said. “We are back to playing UCF defense, which as I have said before is blue collar, workman-like defense and when we play that way I think our offense is better, so our defense compliments what we do offensively.”

In addition to Fall, Aubrey Dawkins and BJ Taylor each finished with double digits, 12 and 10 points respectively. Collin Smith hit a three and had a dominant dunk in the second half finishing with 7 points and 9 rebounds.

Overall, the Knights out-rebounded Northern Kentucky 51-35, which led to second-chance points opportunities for UCF, who outscored the Norse 14-5.

Up next for Johnny Dawkins and the Knights is Alabama. UCF rolled over the Tide last season on the road and look for their fifth straight win of the season this Thursday at the CFE Arena.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.