Points figured to be at a premium when No. 15 Cincinnati and Central Florida got together for an American Athletic Conference matchup Sunday afternoon at CFE Arena in Orlando, Fla.

And they were.

The two teams came into the game holding their respective opponents to 61 points a game and well under 40 percent shooting, and they both lived up to those statistical averages.

But the Knights (19-10, 10-7 AAC) got a big game out of sophomore guard B.J. Taylor and an unexpected lift from center Tacko Fall at the free-throw line for the 53-49 victory, their first over the Bearcats in nine meetings.

With the loss, Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2 AAC) fell out of a first-place tie with SMU in the conference. Each has two games remaining in the regular season with Cincinnati at home against Houston on Thursday and at Connecticut next Sunday. SMU has home games remaining against Tulsa Thursday and Memphis Saturday.

The win was UCF's fourth in a row and kept alive the Knights' chances for a postseason bid in coach Johnny Dawkins' first season.

"I give Central Florida credit," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I told Johnny he's done a great job turning the program around. Obviously he inherited some veteran players, but he gave them an identity with defense."

Taylor scored a season-high 27 points and gave the Knights a 51-46 lead with a 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds left in the game. The Bearcats answered on guard Jacob Evans' 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds remaining, however, and they got the ball back when Taylor missed the first of a one-and-one free opportunity with 11.5 seconds remaining.

But Cincinnati forward Tre Scott missed an alley-oop dunk with about five seconds left and Fall, a 47 percent free-throw shooter, was fouled after grabbing the rebound and made both of his opportunities to put the Knights up by four points with just 2.8 seconds remaining.

Fall had four blocked shots to go with his seven points and eight rebounds, but the 7-foot-6 sophomore's impact at the defensive end went beyond mere numbers. With a wingspan of over eight feet, he altered as many or more shots than he blocked.

"We built our defense around him and we should have because we thought he could really influence what happens," Dawkins said, "and he did tonight."

Fall took an elbow that bloodied his mouth in the first half but didn't let that affect his play.

"I'm used to people being physical with me," he said. "That's how it is every night. I just don't complain about it."

The Bearcats were fortunate to be in a position to even threaten at the end. They got 17 points from guard Jacob Evans and 11 from guard Jarron Cumberland off the bench, but had no other player even close to double figures.

"I don't even know how the game was close, to be honest with you guys, as bad as we played," Cronin said, according to the Enquirer.

They came into the game shooting 47.0 percent for the season but were held to 29.6 percent by a UCF defense that was holding foes to a national low 36.3 percent for the season. The Knights didn't exactly blister the nets with their 39.6 percent shooting, but it turned out to be enough.

After shooting 33 percent and going into the halftime break down 30-27, the Bearcats fought back to a 35-35 tie in the early minutes of the second half. But the Knights then went on an 11-0 run for a 46-35 lead just under the 12-minute mark. The Bearcats responded with a 7-0 run to get back in it, but couldn't get over the hump.

NOTES: The victory was the first over a ranked opponent for the Knights since Nov. 25, 2011, when they beat then No. 4 Connecticut, 68-63. ... Cincinnati failed to crack the 50-point mark for the first time since posting a 44-43 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 17, 2013. ... UCF G Tank Efianayi was a "game-time decision" after missing the past three games with a knee problem. He came off the bench to score three points and hand out an assist. ... F Kyle Washington, Cincinnati's leading scorer with a 13.9 points-per-game entering the afternoon, scored only seven points. ... Sophomore C Tacko Fall's four blocked shots raised his career total to 143, No. 2 all-time for UCF. Keith Clanton set the record of 227 from 2009-13.