ORLANDO, Fla. – B.J. Taylor scored 35 points, including 27 in the second half, and added five assists and four rebounds to lead UCF to a 95-88 men's basketball win over Georgia Southern Tuesday night in CFE Arena.

Tookie Brown scored 20 points to become Georgia Southern's career scoring leader in the Division I era. His floater in the lane over the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall gave him 1,871 career points and sent the senior past Julius Jenkins in the school record books. 

Eagles of the Game
Brown added seven assists and six rebounds for Georgia Southern (6-3), and Isaiah Crawley posted 18 points, with 16 coming in the second half. Ike Smith scored 16, and Quan Jackson chipped in 12 points, three assists and four steals.

Key moments
The Eagles led 77-74 with 4:20 to go, but Taylor hit consecutive 3-pointers, including one from the top of the key that went off the glass and in, to give UCF the lead for good. Taylor made another triple, and Collin Smith got an offensive rebound and an and-1 putback as the Knights built their lead to 88-81 with 1:31 remaining.

The Eagles fought back from a 17-point first-half deficit as UCF (8-2) scored 13 straight points late in the first half to build a 42-31 advantage at the break. Taylor scored seven during the run and capped it with a fast break layup after a steal.  The Eagles stayed in the game by scoring the last six points of the half, and Crawley netted eight points in an 11-2 spurt that put the Eagles ahead 65-60 with 8:36 to play in the game.

Stat of the Game
Georgia Southern shot 50 percent or better for the seventh time this season and shot 65 percent in the second half, making 27-of-34 attempts. UCF came into the game ranked 10th in the country in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 36 percent, and 19th in scoring defense, giving up 60.8 points a game.

Next up
The Eagles open a two-game homestand against Brewton-Parker Friday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.