Dec. 22, 2006
SAN JUAN (www.ucfathletics.com) - Following the Golden Knights' 73-66 victory over Tennessee Tech in the third-place game of the San Juan Shootout on Thursday, UCF head coach Kirk Speraw looked tired. The coach, who needs just one victory to record his 300th-career win, had spent the previous three nights studying film of his team's next opponent.
After the victory to close the eight-team tournament, Speraw, like his players, were drained, but happy. His squad's trip to Puerto Rico was a success.
The Golden Knights, who are 8-2 on the year, won two of three contests in three days in the Caribbean. UCF opened the tournament with an impressive seven-point victory over Utah and its only loss was to tournament champion Appalachian State.
With its third-place showing, UCF finished the tournament ahead of schools from some of the top conferences in the nation, including Northwestern (Big Ten) and Virginia (Atlantic Coast).
"This tournament had some really strong, well-coached teams," said Speraw. "Playing on three-straight days is not an easy task. Our guys were tired and had to learn to play through the fatigue. I thought we learned to battle and fight through adversity as the tournament went on."
UCF's players quickly noticed the strength of the teams competing at the event. Against Utah, the Golden Knights had to defend Luke Nevill, one of the best post players in the nation. The sophomore center finished with 20 points, but had just four in the first half as UCF built a large lead.
"This was a whole new level of competition. We immediately learned that we were playing some really good teams," said senior forward Lavell Payne. "We faced a lot of adversity. It is tough to play three-straight games. We got it done with the two wins and it is good to go home happy."
After their busy stay in San Juan, the Golden Knights will now have time to rest. Several players are traveling home for Christmas and UCF will not practice again until Dec. 26.
Starting Dec. 29, the squad will host the UCF Holiday Classic at the UCF Arena. The Golden Knights open the event with a 7:30 p.m. contest against New Jersey Tech. James Madison and Texas-Pan Am are also participating in the two-day tournament.