ORLANDO -- UCF outgunned one of the nation's hottest offenses Tuesday night to continue a strong, unbeaten men's basketball start.

Keyshawn Hall had 20 of his 26 points in the second half, and the Knights (3-0) knocked down a season-high 13 three-pointers in a 100-94 victory over Florida Atlantic (2-1) at Addition Financial Arena. Jordan Ivy-Curry chipped in 22 points (18 in the first half) with four assists, and Darius Johnson scored 21. Benny Williams came off the bench to contribute 17 points and seven rebounds.

UCF entered the night near the bottom of Division I in 3-point shooting (10 for 46) but enjoyed a solid showing from all levels of the floor. The Knights made 54.2% of their field goals, 46.4% of their threes and 92% of their free throws.

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"Coach (Adam) Hood said, 'Just stay with it. Keep putting in the reps. ... They're open shots. They're going to go down,'" said Hall, who filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. "(We have to) stay confident in our shot, and not get discouraged."

And they had to be sharp against an FAU squad tied for 20th nationally in scoring (98.0 ppg) through its two victories over Indiana State and Coastal Georgia. The Owls opened the night on an 10-1 run and strung together 12 consecutive points in the first 4½ minutes of the second half.

"We did some good things on the offensive end, but defensively, we've got some growth in front of us," FAU first-year coach John Jakus said.

"It's hard to be encouraged after playing defense like that. I will say I believe in the kids we recruited. I believe that we have depth. I believe that when we share and run (that) we're hard to guard. For stretches, you saw that tonight."

Here are three takeaways from a Sunshine State showdown of NCAA tournament hopefuls.

Johnny Dawkins celebrated his 150th career win at UCF this past Friday when the Knights fended off Purdue Fort Wayne's upset bid. In none of those games had the Knights eclipsed the 100-point mark in regulation.

Williams sank two free throws with 15 seconds left to seal victory and surpass the century mark, a feat UCF last accomplished on March 7, 2014 -- a 104-83 win over then-American Athletic Conference rival Houston.

Johnson produced the night's final major momentum swing, producing eight straight points with FAU starting bigs Baba Miller and Matas Vokietaitis stuck on the bench with four fouls apiece. He coasted into the lane twice for layups, the former resulting in a three-point play, and dropped in a rainbow 3-pointer over Miller once he checked back in.

"He had a senior moment. It's great to have a senior point guard, guys who understand what you want and guys that have been in those moments before," Dawkins said. "He's comfortable. He made the plays that were in front of him, timely plays coming down the stretch for us."

Jakus expressed disappointment in his team's defensive execution and noted that the Knights' sudden success beyond the arc changed the complexion of the game.

"They were 2 of 20 last game. When they're making 13 threes at home and we don't get out there and take that away, that's going to be an issue for us," Jakus said. "They had won games at the free-throw line the last two, but I thought the won it at the 3-point line today. They deserve a lot of credit."

For the third straight game, the Knights dug themselves out of an early hole. UCF missed its first eight shots against Texas A&M and its first nine versus Purdue Fort Wayne.

This time, it was not so much about failing to execute at the offensive end so much as it was an inability to stop the Owls, inside and out.

Vokietaitis threw down a couple of routine dunks, and both KyKy Tandy and Miller hit threes to give FAU a 10-1 lead within the opening two minutes.

"We've got to get better," Dawkins said. "Believe me, we're working on it daily. ... It's a process. These guys are still learning to play with each other. You're three games into the season; I expect some of that."

UCF chipped away at the deficit and clamped down on the defensive end, allowing FAU to make just one field goal over the final 7:41 of the first half. The Knights turned a deficit as large as 11 into a 10-point advantage at the break.

Ivy-Curry carried the offense, making all six of his 3-point field goals before halftime. He burned FAU last season as well, scoring a career-high 38 while at UTSA in a 112-103 loss.

UCF has a week off until its next matchup, a fourth straight home date against Tennessee Tech. Meanwhile, FAU embarks on what Jakus described as an "NBA road trip."

The Owls will play five games across nine days in Charleston, South Carolina -- against Charleston and Liberty in the Field of 68 Opening Showcase on Friday and Saturday, and against Oklahoma State, either Miami or Drake and a third undetermined opponent in the Charleston Classic from Nov. 21-24.

Jakus said post-game that he called all summer to search for Quad 1 games, and that UCF was one of the only Power Four opponents to put the Owls -- fresh off back-to-back NCAA tournament trips, including a memorable Final Four run in 2023 -- on the schedule.

"You call around, and the leagues are growing," Jakus said. "You're now getting 20-game leagues. It's going to get to 22 and 24. The floor of people with 13 games to fill is getting less and less. Because of the math, I think they want to take games they can win by 30 or 40 and trick the NET. And that's OK. We just did the best we could."

Like UCF, FAU has dramatically reshaped its roster -- following the departure of head coach Dusty May to Michigan. The Owls' top four scorers from a year ago departed via the transfer portal, and their starting five Tuesday played the 2023-24 campaign at Jackson State (Ken Evans), Eastern Kentucky (Leland Walker), Florida State (Miller), Jacksonville State (Tandy) and in Lithuania (Vokietaitis).

Walker paced five Owls in double figures with 20 points, and Kaleb Glenn had 17 with five boards off the bench.