• Final stats

B.J. Taylor just made his return from injury after missing almost 10 weeks, but there hasn’t been any accommodation for reintegrating with his team.

With UCF Knights center Tacko Fall sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury and forward A.J. Davis nursing an ankle for at least a game, Taylor had to assume a drastically larger role. In just his second game back, Taylor willed UCF (13-6, 4-3 in American Athletic Conference) to a 71-69 rivalry victory over the USF Bulls Saturday night at the Sun Dome in front of 4,611 fans.

Coming off the bench, Taylor was the offensive focal point for the Knights. He scored 25 points on 6-for-16, including 3-for-6 from 3 and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. Taylor added 5 assists and a steal in 25 minutes, up 4 from his 21 minutes against the No. 12 University of Cincinnati.

Taylor found help from junior Chad Brown, who recorded the second double-double of his career. Brown finished his night with 13 points, 10 rebounds and a block.

USF (7-13, 0-7 in AAC) led most of the way, but the Knights never let the Bulls increase their lead to double digits. Trailing by three with under six minutes to play, Taylor hit his second of two 3s to tie the game at 56.

From there, USF never managed more than a one-point lead the rest of the game.

Taylor’s range was called upon, again, in the last two minutes, as he hit his third and final triple for a five-point, 64-59 lead. Brown, then, finished an and-1 dunk off a Taylor assist for an eight-point lead.

USF’s David Collins made it a three-point game with 36 seconds remaining, as he converted an and-1 jumper and drained two free throws for a personal 5-0 run. Taylor closed the game, converting on three of his final four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Senior Djordjije Mumin started a 9-2 lead that cut into an eight-point USF lead, its largest of the game, less than five minutes into the second half. He finished with 7 points, shooting 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

Who’s Next?

UCF concludes a two-game road trip with a visit to No. 7 Wichita State University. The Shockers are third in the American, going 15-4 overall, 5-2 in conference.

For more on the Knights, as they prepare for their second top-15 team of the season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.