Nov. 11, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Getting a game-high 31 points from senior Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.), the UCF men's basketball team pulled away to a 76-56 win over visiting Flagler Tuesday night in an exhibition tune-up at UCF Arena.
The contest served as the Knights' lone exhibition game before the team opens the regular season Sunday at the UCF Arena against North Carolina A&T.
"It was a good exhibition game for us. I thought Flagler did a good job," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "It was a game where I think we could see some progress in certain areas and see some weaknesses that obviously we need to get better at."
Taylor finished the game 12-for-20 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long range, and pulled down four rebounds. Fellow senior Kenrick Zondervan had a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards for the Knights.
With UCF nursing a nine-point edge with 5:41 left, Taylor erupted to score 10 of the game's next 12 points, including three thunderous dunks, to give the Knights a 69-54 lead.
The two teams played a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes of the first half. Flagler's John Pietkiewicz banked in a three, his fifth of the half, to give the Saints a 24-21 advantage at the 8:16 mark. Led by Taylor, the host Knights broke out for an 11-0 run capped by a Taylor triple that put UCF in front 32-24 with 4:04 left in the half.
At the break, Taylor was 6-for-10 for 16 points, and UCF had drained seven from long range, as the Knights led 41-30.
UCF finished the game 29-of-67 for 43.3 percent, including 10-for-24 from beyond the arc. Led by freshman point guard A.J. Rompza's eight assists, the Knights had 21 helpers to just seven turnovers.
Pietkiewicz paced the Saints with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 6-for-12 on threes.
Tipoff for Sunday's regular-season opener is set for 1 p.m. The 2008-09 campaign will mark the Knights' second season at the state-of-the-art UCF Arena.
Season tickets are currently available. To order your season tickets today, and to learn more about the Fastbreak Club and other premium seating options, call the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.