Dec. 29, 2005
ORLANDO - Behind 19 points and nine rebounds from senior guard Justin Rose, the UCF men's basketball team posted a 69-57 victory over visiting North Florida in opening round play at the UCF Holiday Classic on Thursday evening. The Golden Knights (6-4) will play Birmingham-Southern on Friday night at 8 p.m. for the tournament championship at Torchy Clark Court at UCF Arena.
UCF pulled away from the Ospreys (3-5) in the first half, closing the period with a 26-7 run. Rose had nine of his 10 first-half points during the spurt. After senior guard Troy Lindbeck canned a three-pointer near the end of the half, the hosts took a 39-22 lead into intermission.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Golden Knights, who committed 18 turnovers compared to 25 for North Florida. UCF has won 11 games in a row at home. The Golden Knights shot 59.3 percent from the floor and hit six of their eight triples in the first half.
"We were taking good shots and getting good looks and moving the basketball fairly well (in the first half)," said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. "We are going to continue to get better. As soon as we can get this turnover bug out of our system, it is going to help us even more."
Following a jumper from Chris Timberlake with 7:16 to play in the game, the Ospreys cut the UCF edge to 49-42. Rose responded with five quick points and after a basket inside from senior forward Anthony Williams and two free throws from junior forward Josh Peppers, the Golden Knight lead was back to 14 points.
Peppers and Williams were two of the four UCF players to finish with double-digits in scoring, each recording 15 points. Lindbeck added 13 points. In addition to his 19 points, Rose totaled five assists and three steals.
Alain Laroche paced the Ospreys with 21 points and seven rebounds. Timberlake had 13 points and Derrick Scott finished with 10 points in the losing effort.
Birmingham-Southern (6-3) topped Western Illinois (3-6), 67-54, to open the tournament. Thomas Viglianco led the Panthers with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
North Florida and Birmingham-Southern will meet in the tournament consolation game at 6 p.m. on Friday.
UCF's game will be aired live on the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, WQTM - 740 THE TEAM.