March 8, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Junior forward Josh Peppers scored a career-high 25 points as the the fifth-seeded UCF men's basketball team posted a solid effort in the first half and eased to a 65-52 win over No. 12 East Carolina in the first round of the 2006 Conference USA Championship on Wednesday evening at the FedEx Forum. The Golden Knights (14-14) will face No. 4 Houston in the quarterfinals at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday.
Peppers hit four three-pointers and totaled17 points in the first half, outscoring the Pirates (8-20) as UCF led 42-16 at intermission. The Golden Knights shot 50 percent in the opening stanza, compared to East Carolina, who made just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) of its field-goal attempts.
"I am very proud of our team, the focus they had at the beginning of the ballgame," said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. "We were very focused defensively and we made it difficult for ECU to get any good looks."
Peppers, who finished 5-of-10 from deep, hit a trey at the 16:48 mark of the first half to spark a 20-2 UCF run. He had 12 points - all coming on triples - during the run. The Golden Knights would lead by as many as 26 in the half when freshman Jermaine Taylor hit a jumper with 2:10 to play.
UCF blocked nine shots in the contest, just one short of the tournament record of 10 set by Cincinnati in 1998. Sophomore center Adam Gill recorded a career-best four blocks and senior forward Anthony Williams added three swats.
Taylor finished with nine points and Gill recorded six points and a career-best eight boards in 20 minutes. Senior guard Justin Rose led the team with nine rebounds.
When senior guard Troy Lindbeck checked into the game with 16 minutes remaining in the first half, it marked its 121st appearance as a Golden Knight, tying Jason Thornton (1998-02) for the most games played in school history.
The game marked the C-USA Championship debut for the Golden Knights. UCF is in its first year in the league after moving from the Atlantic Sun. The Golden Knights have won seven-consecutive conference tournament games.
UCF shot 44.9 percent overall for the game and 42.1 percent from three-point range.
Corey Rouse paced the Pirates with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double. Jeremy Ingram scored 16 points, all in the second half. For the game, East Carolina shot 29.4 percent from the field.
UCF-Houston will be televised live nationally on CSTV. The game will be aired on the UCF ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, 740-THE TEAM AM.