A poor defensive effort and a bad inbounds play in the final seconds cost UCF a chance to knock off LSU in an exhibition game at Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La..
The Knights tied the game at 81 with 34 seconds left but missed a crucial free throw before LSU’s Donovan Dent hit a go-ahead bucket with 8 seconds remaining. On the inbound, Tigers forward Mo Dioubate stole the ball from UCF guard Dior Johnson and scored to seal an 85-81 win on Wednesday night.
It was the first game for both teams, who are dealing with massive roster makeovers.
UCF replaced 11 players from last year’s squad, pairing them with starting center Jon Bol, reserve point guard Carmelo Pachecho, reserve center Elijah Hulsewe and reserve guard Tanner Jones.
LSU, meanwhile, used a six-man rotation all night as the Tigers continue to rebuild their roster under coach Will Wade. Wade previously coached the program from 2017-18 to 2021-22 before he was fired after an investigation into recruiting violations.
Eleven Knights scored in the game, led by Johnson, who had 18 points, 16 of them in the second half, while forwards Jason Asemota and Lewis Walker each had 13.
Guard Abdi Bashir led the Tigers with 26 points.
UCF started strong, hitting three of its first four shots to jump to an early 7-2 lead over LSU. However, the Knights struggled to find their shooting rhythm over the next five minutes, making only one of their next 11 attempts. This let the Tigers pull away with a solid 17-10 lead.
Walker, a transfer from Villanova, stepped up with a crucial 3-pointer and a layup to keep UCF in the game at 24-15. The Knights went on a 9-0 run led by guards Arturo Dean, Mister Dean and Johnson, tying the game at 24 with 8:04 remaining in the first half.
Asemota scored back-to-back buckets to help UCF retake a 28-24 lead.
The Knights made seven of their last nine shots in the final four minutes of the half, fueled by four 3-pointers, three by Asemota and one by Pacheco to take a 47-45 lead at the half.
UCF opened with two straight shots, giving the Knights their biggest lead of the game, 53-45 with 17:50. However, LSU went on a run powered by Bashir (11) and center Michael Ruzic (4), who scored 15 straight points to push the Tigers ahead, 60-58.
The Knights went nearly four minutes without scoring, going 1-of-13 from the floor while LSU extended its lead to 69-62. But Johnson went on a stretch, scoring eight points over the next three minutes to give UCF its first lead since the 12-minute mark at 75-74.
But Dioubate was fouled on a layup, and LSU took an 80-79 lead with 1:23 left.
Johnson drove to the basket on UCF’s next possession, but his shot was blocked, and the Tigers rebounded. Dent was fouled and made one of two free throws to push the lead to 81-79.
Johnson scored to tie the game at 81, but missed a free throw with 34 seconds left, setting up LSU’s final push.
This was the second straight season UCF faced LSU in an exhibition game, with the Tigers winning 75-68 at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
UCF travels to Lexington to face Kentucky in an exhibition game at Rupp Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 28 (6 p.m., SECN+), before opening the regular season at Addition Financial Arena on Nov. 2 against Florida Gulf Coast University (7 p.m., ESPN+).
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