Dec. 31, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - How good was senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) in two games at the UCF Holiday Classic? Just look at the tournament MVP's statistics.
In victories over Penn and Chicago State, Taylor averaged 36.0 points in only 27.5 minutes per contest. He shot a staggering 62.8 percent from the floor, 46.2 percent from 3-point range and 80.0 percent at the line. Taylor also averaged 4.5 rebounds and totaled three blocked shots and three steals for the Knights.
Tuesday in the championship game, he torched Chicago State for a career-high 38 points, helping UCF improve to 8-4 this season. Taylor connected on 13-of-22 shots versus the Cougars.
After the contest, Taylor was asked by a reporter about his performance. His answer was simple.
"My shot was on and when I'm on, I'm going to keep shooting," he said.
Taylor's shot has certainly been on at the UCF Arena in 2008-09 as he is shooting 61.6 percent overall and is averaging 30.3 points through six games at the facility. He has made 50.0 percent of his 3-point field goal tries in Orlando.
On the year, Taylor is averaging 23.0 points per game overall, good for second in Conference USA. UTEP's Stefon Jackson is first at 24.4.
The contest with Chicago State was part of a six-game homestand for the Knights and Taylor will have three more chances in the near future to continue his hot streak at the UCF Arena. The first opportunity will come Saturday when the Knights host Sam Houston State at 7 p.m.
A UCF Basketball Outback Steakhouse Four-Pack is currently available for only $50 by calling the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000. The four-pack offers the best seat available at the UCF Arena for the Knights' Jan. 10 contest with national power Memphis. The package also includes tickets to UCF's C-USA games with SMU (Jan. 28), Houston (Feb. 4) and East Carolina (March 7).
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.
Notes: In two games at the tournament, freshman guard A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.) dished out 17 assists and had just two turnovers. He joined Taylor on the all-tournament squad. On the year, Rompza is averaging 5.3 assists, which ranks second in C-USA... At 6-foot-4, Taylor ranks 10th in the league in blocks per game (1.0)... The Knights are averaging 86.2 points in Orlando... Troy Lindbeck, who played for the Knights from 2002-06, was in attendance Monday night to watch the Knights play Penn. The shooting guard was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams while at UCF.