Darius Johnson had no shortage of personal motivation ahead of Thursday's College Basketball Crown quarterfinal.
UCF's next loss will be the final chapter of his four-year career, and its opponent — longtime conference rival Cincinnati — had beaten Johnson and the Knights five straight times, including a 93-83 backbreaker in Orlando two months ago.
Yet, Johnny Dawkins — the Knights' head coach and Johnson's godfather — reminded his team of one extra incentive before tipoff.
"Our coach always tells us that you're either going to play for two things — pride or money. Right now, our guys are playing for both," Johnson told FS1 in a postgame interview.
The Knights, thanks to Johnson's late-game heroics, will cash out of Las Vegas at least $50,000 richer as a team.
MOON BALL..AGAIN..HA..HAAA https://t.co/6MdEfkzvunpic.twitter.com/FjKabghtMh
— UCF Men’s Hoops 🌴 (@UCF_MBB) April 4, 2025
Johnson punctuated a pivotal 10-0 run with eight unanswered points in an 82-second span and led all scorers with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting as UCF eliminated the Bearcats from the inaugural 16-team tournament with an 88-80 victory.
"Obviously, I'm an older guy, senior guy, and I've got to take the ball into my own hands," Johnson told FS1. "I've been in the position with Coach Dawkins before. He trusts me. My teammates trust me. I've just got to go out and make plays. That's what good players do."
The Knights (19-16) will play in Saturday's second semifinal, against either Villanova or USC, at 4 p.m. On the other half of the bracket, Nebraska meets Boise State at 1 p.m.
The College Basketball Crown and its corporate partner Vivid Seats will award $300,000 in Name, Image and Likeness prize money to the champion, $100,000 to the runner-up and $50,000 to both the third- and fourth-place teams.
UCF shot 47% from the field, hitting 10 of 30 attempts from 3-point range, and committed just eight turnovers across the 40 minutes. Taylor Hendricks and Nils Machowski, both of whom entered the
Topics in this Story
