Jan. 21, 2006
ORLANDO - Junior forward Josh Peppers blocked a layup attempt by Tulsa's Anthony Price with three seconds to play as the UCF men's basketball team held on for a 45-44 victory over the Golden Hurricane in Conference USA play on Saturday evening at Torchy Clark Court at UCF Arena. Senior forward Anthony Williams scored a game-high 15 points for the Golden Knights (8-8, 2-1 C-USA).
Tulsa (7-10, 2-2) had a chance to win the contest on its final possession, but Peppers came from underneath the basket to record his first block of the game.
"I thought the whole team played very good defense on that last possession," said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. "Obviously, if he (Peppers) is not there on the help side, then they (Tulsa) have a made basket with only two seconds to go."
Both teams struggled offensively as UCF shot just 33.3 percent overall for the game and made just 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from three-point range. The Golden Hurricane shot at a 38.3 percent clip from the field and were 4-of-15 (25 percent) from deep.
The teams, who are both competing in C-USA for the first time this season, were meeting for the first time since 1989.
The Golden Knights led by four points after a pair of free throws by Peppers with 2:07 to play in the game, but Charles Ramsdell nailed his second three in a one-minute span to get Tulsa within one.
Williams scored six points as UCF opened the game with a 10-2 run. UCF led by as many as 11 points in the period, but Tulsa responded with a 12-4 run and cut the Golden Knight edge to three with five minutes to go in the half after a trey by Ray Reese. The hosts led, 26-22, at halftime.
Williams was the only UCF player to record double-digits in scoring. He also posted three blocks. Peppers finished with six rebounds and six points and was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line as the Golden Knights shot 76.9 percent (its best effort of the season) from the charity stripe. Senior guard Justin Rose recorded six assists for UCF.
Price and Ramsdell both totaled 10 points in the losing effort. Price added four blocks and four assists. Chris Wallace had eight points and a game-high seven boards.
The win snapped a three-game home losing streak for the Golden Knights.
UCF opens a two-game conference road swing on Wednesday, facing East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.