photo by: AP Photo/John Raoux

Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake, right, tries to steal the ball from Central Florida forward C.J. Walker during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

Orlando, Fla. — UCF could not have scripted a worse nine-minute stretch in the first half of its first-ever home Big 12 Conference game.

The Knights saw an early lead fall by the wayside when Kansas embarked on a 23-5 run spearheaded by a hard-charging KJ Adams and stellar bench play. The Jayhawks led by as many as 16 points in the first half.

“I told our guys in the under-4 timeout, ‘We’ve got to get this thing to 20 and not let it go to 10,'” KU coach Bill Self said postgame. “Well, I should have said, ‘Don’t let it go to eight.'”

As has become customary for this year’s KU team, they made it much closer than it needed to be — and this time, they couldn’t bail themselves out with a late rally.

After UCF trimmed the deficit to 37-29 — eight points — by halftime, KU’s offense flatlined in the second half, shooting just 31.8% and turning the ball over nine times. UCF’s Ibrahima Diallo hit a post fadeaway with three minutes left to break a 57-57 tie, and Hunter Dickinson couldn’t answer with a hook shot at the other end. In fact, the Jayhawks didn’t score again until 16.5 seconds remained, and the Knights made their free throws in the final seconds to claim a 65-60 win at Addition Financial Arena Wednesday night, as the fans stormed the court following the final buzzer.

“There’s no understating that they were better than us,” Self said. “On the flip side, we weren’t very good.”

Diallo was sharp in the post for 13 points, but it was Jaylin Sellers (18 points) and Darius Johnson (17) who provided consistent production for the Knights against an uneven KU defense.

Dickinson struggled with foul trouble and finished with just 12 points and four rebounds. Kevin McCullar Jr. had a team-high 16 points for the Jayhawks, who committed 18 turnovers for the second game in a row.

“We need to take care of the ball better,” McCullar said. “Coach has been emphasizing that in practice and today in the game. We turned the ball over at a high rate and that leads to easy baskets for the other team.”

After Sellers drained an early corner 3 and then slammed home a thunderous transition dunk, Johnny Furphy helped the Jayhawks flip the script immediately with seven points of their own after the sluggish start. He sank a no-hesitation 3-pointer, then stepped in front of a Johnson pass for a steal and flushed a two-handed dunk at the other end to give KU its first lead at 9-7.

The Jayhawks extended their run to 17-3 on a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer by Parker Braun, before a close-range bucket by Marchelus Avery cut the deficit to five points.

KU’s Nick Timberlake attempted to wrestle a ball away from CJ Walker on a fast break, leading to a confrontation behind the KU basket after which UCF’s Thierno Sylla was ejected.

Timberlake contributed on the offensive end with a pair of strong layups and the Jayhawks went up by as many as 16 before a hard-fought offensive rebound by Johnson off his own missed free throw set up a Sellers 3 to restore some life to the Knights.

Then the Jayhawks’ offense hit a rough patch, as Omar Payne blocked a Braun layup and KU turned the ball over thrice in quick succession, harkening back to its struggles in that department against TCU.

Johnson’s hard-fought drive at the end of the shot clock with 30 seconds left in the half capped off a 10-0 run, though the Jayhawks salvaged something when McCullar hit a deep jump shot right before the buzzer.

After the break, Hunter Dickinson’s third foul sent him to the bench and a tight UCF zone defense allowed the Knights to get as close as 40-39 on a Sellers corner 3. McCullar answered with one of his own immediately to briefly fend off the Knights, but they eventually tied the game on a pair of Diallo free throws.

Sellers hit a turnaround jumper over Elmarko Jackson to put UCF up 45-44 and Johnson added a 3 from the left wing to boost the lead to two possessions and force a timeout by KU coach Bill Self.

“They got some easy looks tonight,” McCullar said. “We definitely got to do better at containing, containing the ball, jumping to the ball and helping each other out when we’re rotating.”

The Jayhawks made just two field goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half before Adams rattled in a floater with nine minutes to go. Dickinson followed that up with a jumper soon after and KU cut its deficit to 52-49.

Furphy briefly gave the Jayhawks a lead with a transition layup, but when Johnson took it back on a 3, he couldn’t respond.

“I don’t think that we played with near the poise that we’ve exhibited in some other games,” Self said.”

It doesn’t get any easier for KU, which will return home to face No. 9 Oklahoma on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“You’re going into week two and there’s must-win games,” Self said. “Who would have ever thought in an 18-game (conference) season you have must-win games going into week two, but that’s kind of how it feels right now.”

Box score

photo by: AP Photo/John Raoux

Kansas guard Johnny Furphy, right, passes the ball over Central Florida forward Marchelus Avery (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

photo by: AP Photo/John Raoux

Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) passes the ball around Central Florida guard Jaylin Sellers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

photo by: AP Photo/John Raoux

Central Florida guard Darius Johnson (3) drives against Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

photo by: AP Photo/John Raoux

Central Florida forward C.J. Walker (21) tries to get off a shot as Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr., left, defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.