Feb. 4, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF men's basketball team connected on a season-high 13 three-pointers, but it was not enough as visiting UAB held on for a 75-68 Conference USA victory against the Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon at Torchy Clark Court at UCF Arena. Junior forward Josh Peppers recorded a game-high 19 points for UCF (9-10, 3-3 C-USA).
The Blazers shot 54 percent from the floor for the game and improve to 16-4 overall and 6-1 in league play.
UCF connected on eight treys and shot 50 percent overall in the first half, but struggled from the field in the second half. The hosts made just 32.3 percent of their field goals in the second half. UAB shot 57.1 percent to close the game.
"We got great looks in the first half," said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. "The second half, we handled their pressure better, got the same looks, and missed them. I thought we had great looks in the second half."
UAB led 36-35 at halftime, but pulled away from the Golden Knights midway through the second half. Derrick Broom hit a pair of three-pointers during a 13-4 Blazer run. His trey at the 7:04 mark handed UAB a 62-52 edge.
Sophomore guard Mike O'Donnell hit five treys for UCF and finished with a career-best 17 points. He added eight assists in 39 minutes. In 22 minutes off of the bench, senior forward Marcus Johnson matched a career-high with 11 rebounds.
UCF and UAB were meeting for the first time. The contest was broadcast live on CSTV and served as the first-nationally televised regular season home game in UCF history.
The Golden Knights used strong shooting from behind-the-arc to stay in the game during the first half. UAB led 25-18 with 10 minutes remaining in the half after a dunk by Paul Delaney, but Peppers, O'Donnell and senior guard Troy Lindbeck all hit three-pointers during a 9-1 UCF run. Lindbeck's triple with seven minutes on the clock gave the hosts a 27-26 advantage.
Senior forward Anthony Williams totaled 14 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Knights. Peppers hit four triples and Lindbeck made three from deep on his way to nine points.
The Golden Knights finished with a 36-27 edge on the glass. UCF shot 43.3 percent from three-point range for the game, but made just 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) at the free-throw line. UAB's pressure forced 18 Golden Knight turnovers.
Brandon Tobias led UAB with 14 points in only 17 minutes off of the bench. Broom totaled 13 points and Lawrence Kinnard added 12 points. Squeaky Johnson had eight assists in the win.
The Golden Knights return to action on Wednesday, facing host Southern Miss. Tip-off in Hattiesburg, Miss. is set for 8 p.m. Eastern.