ORLANDO, Fla _ UCF basketball made history again.
The Knights earned their first trip to the NIT Final Four with a 68-58 victory over Illinois on Wednesday night in front of the first announced sellout crowd in CFE Arena history.
UCF fought through a nail-biter after seeing its double-digit lead whittled down thanks to the hot hand of Illinois' Malcolm Hill in the final four minutes of regulation.
Hill hit a long jumper to first cut UCF's lead by nine. Then A.J. Davis fouled Hill twice on 3-point attempts to make it a six-point game.
Davis would do some damage himself at the free-throw line, hitting three of four attempts in the final minute to keep UCF ahead.
Fans stormed the court after the victory, celebrating the team's extended postseason run.
Four UCF players finished in double figures, led by B.J. Taylor's 17.
Hill led the Fighting Illini with 29 points.
The NIT semifinals begin Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York, with the championship game taking place on Thursday.
UCF first-year coach Johnny Dawkins has won the tournament twice during his coaching career.
Even though UCF was seeded lower at No. 4, the Knights were considered four-point favorites headed into their contest with the No. 2 seed Fighting Illini.
The Knights previously knocked out the NIT's final No. 1 seed in Illinois State on the road during a last second thriller.
