Jan. 20, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - In the first half of UCF's win over East Carolina on Saturday, the visiting Knights went just 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. Fortunately for head coach Kirk Speraw and his squad, the second half featured frequent trips to the charity stripe and a perfect shooting performance from the Knights.
After intermission, UCF made all 14 of its free-throw tries. For the contest, the team went 15-of-16 at the line, good for 93.8 percent.
The impressive percentage ranked fourth on the school's single-game register. The contest was not the first time that the Knights shot well at the free-throw stripe at East Carolina.
A year ago in the matchup in Greenville, N.C., UCF also shot 93.8 percent from charity stripe.
In yesterday's game against the Pirates, all 14 of UCF's second-half free throws came with under seven minutes remaining in a close game, which pleased Speraw.
"We knocked them down when it mattered most. Our guys showed great composure at the line in a tough environment. The right guys had the ball in their hands down the stretch."
Junior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla./Tavares) made all eight of his foul shots in the victory. He finished the contest with a career-high 32 points. Senior guard Dave Noel (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boynton Beach) went 4-of-4 down the stretch and senior guard Mike Battle (Waldorf, Md./Southern Maryland Christian) connected on his two free-throw attempts.
In UCF's three Conference USA games this year, Taylor has gone 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) at the line. Noel has made 88.9 of his attempts in conference play, going 16-of-18.
The Knights' next contest is set for Wednesday at home against UTEP. Tip-off at the new UCF Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
UCF has seven C-USA home games remaining this year. As a result, the UCF Athletics Association is offering a pair of special ticket deals. The C-USA Pack includes tickets to all seven of the league games for $105.
The 3-Point Pack provides fans with tickets to games against UAB (Jan. 30), Houston (Feb. 2) and Rice (March 1) for $39. That package also includes a ticket to the UCF women's game versus East Carolina prior to the men's contest on Feb. 2.
Call 407-UCF-1000 to learn more about the ticket packages.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Notes: Former UCF guard Kingsley Edwards attended the game at East Carolina. Edwards played for the Knights from 2003-05 and was a member of two NCAA Tournament squads. He currently lives in Charlotte, N.C... Taylor is averaging 22.8 points in road contests this year... On Sunday morning, UCF left Raleigh, N.C., and returned to Orlando. The team is not slated to practice until Monday afternoon.