Dec. 11, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF limited Louisiana-Lafayette to just 13 field goals on Tuesday evening as the Knights used a strong defensive effort to post a 65-52 non-conference win at the new UCF Arena. Junior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla./Tavares) led all players with 18 points in the win.
UCF (5-4) held the Ragin' Cajuns (1-5) to a 13-of-56 (23.2 percent) shooting performance from the field and a 5-of-20 (25 percent) showing from 3-point range.
"Defensively, I thought we played very well," said UCF head coach Kirk Speraw. "I thought we were very focused defensively and gave a tremendous effort."
The Knights led 33-27 at halftime and pushed their lead to 11 points with 15:21 to play in the game on a Taylor layup. UCF's advantage grew to as many as 19 points late in the contest as the Ragin' Cajuns shot just 22.6 percent from the field after intermission.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored 21 of its 52 total points at the free-throw line. UCF dominated inside, finishing with a 32-10 points advantage in the paint.
Senior guard Dave Noel (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boynton Beach) totaled 14 points in the win. Sophomore forward Tony Davis (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview) led the hosts with eight boards. The Knights posted seven blocks for the game as senior center Stanley Billings (Orlando, Fla./Oak Ridge) established a career-high with four swats.
The Knights shot 52.6 percent overall in the first half and 42.3 percent for the game.
Elijah Millsap went 0-of-5 from the field, but shot 13-of-14 from the line to score 13 points in the losing effort. He added eight boards for Louisiana-Lafayette. David Dees also recorded 13 points and eight rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns.
UCF will return to action on Sunday, playing at Nevada. The Knights' next home contest is set for Dec. 28 against national power Connecticut.
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