Feb. 3, 2005
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ORLANDO - The UCF men's basketball team returns to action on Friday, Feb. 4, playing host Troy at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Knights enter the contest 14-7 overall and 7-6 in Atlantic Sun play while Troy is 9-12 and 7-5.
ABOUT UCF The Golden Knights will be looking for their third-straight win when they visit Troy. The contest is the first of three consecutive on the road for UCF, who does not play in Orlando until Feb. 17. Overall, Gary Johnson leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.3 points per outing. Josh Peppers (11.8) and Anthony Williams (11.3) are the other Golden Knights averaging double-digits in scoring. Williams is tops on the team in rebounding, grabbing 5.9 boards per contest. Johnson has totaled 78 assists and 41 steals to pace the squad in both categories. Over his last three contests, Williams is averaging 14 points and 9.7 rebounds. He has notched double-doubles in two of those games. As a team, UCF is shooting 45.7 percent from the field and is scoring 68.6 points per outing, while limiting opponents to 65. The Golden Knights hold a +6.0 rebounding margin.
ABOUT TROY The Trojans ended a four-game winning streak on Jan. 31, falling at Mercer, 105-101. Troy shot 51.4 percent overall and hit 22-of-46 (47.8 percent) of its shots from three-point range against the Bears. Junior guard Jacob Hazouri scored 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from behind-the-arc and junior guard Bobby Dixon had a team-high 28 points. On the year, Dixon paces the squad in scoring (15.4), while senior forward Eddie Baker is chipping in with 13.5 points and 5.2 boards per outing. As a team, Troy is averaging 75.8 points each game, but allowing 79.1. The Trojans rank last in the A-Sun in rebounding margin (-9.3).
SERIES HISTORY All-time, the Trojans lead the series, 11-7, including a 3-2 mark at home. UCF has won the last two meetings, most recently an 87-76 game in Orlando on Jan. 16. In that contest, Gary Johnson scored a game-high 19 points and Kingsley Edwards recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 14 assists and 10 boards. Anthony Williams added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Corey Hornsby and Bobby Dixon each had 15 points for the Trojans. Under head coach Kirk Speraw, UCF is 7-10 against Troy.
ON THE AIR The game will be aired live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, 740-THE TEAM (AM). Marc Daniels will call all of the action from courtside.
ON THE TUBE UCF-Troy will be broadcast live on CSS (Comcast Sports South).
ON DECK The Golden Knights head to DeLand to face local rival Stetson on Feb. 10... UCF leads the all-time series, 18-15, and has won the last seven contests, including a 70-66 game in Orlando on Jan. 11... In DeLand, both squads have won seven contests.