Jan. 17, 2009
HOUSTON (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) totaled a game-high 20 points and junior forward Tony Davis (Sarasota, Fla.) recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds as the UCF men's basketball team rolled past Rice for a 77-52 Conference USA win at Tudor Fieldhouse Saturday. The Knights (11-6, 1-2 C-USA) outscored Rice 47-22 after intermission.
With the score tied at 42 with 14:43 left in the game, Davis sparked a 14-0 run that allowed UCF to pull away and ease to the win. He started the spurt by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. Taylor had eight points during the run, which he capped with a triple at the 10:29 mark that gave the Knights a 56-42 edge.
After the score was knotted at 30 at intermission, UCF shot 61.3 percent overall and 83.3 percent from deep in the second half. The Knights limited Rice (6-11, 1-2) to just a 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) shooting effort in the final 20 minutes.
"We played much better in the second half," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "We picked up our defensive intensity. We had great ball movement and were very patient offensively. I thought that Tony Davis was active and really excelled on the defensive end."
UCF shot 54.2 percent from the field for the game. The squad made 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) of its 3-point field goal attempts.
Taylor connected on 8-of-13 field goals, including a 3-of-4 showing from 3-point range. Davis scored 13 points after intermission. Six of his 12 boards were on the offensive end.
The Knights dominated inside, scoring 36 points in the paint. UCF finished the contest with a 39-24 advantage on the glass.
Three UCF players finished with double-digits in scoring as senior center Kenrick Zondervan (Hoofddorp, Holland) recorded 12 points. The Knights totaled 20 assists versus the Owls.
Connor Frizzelle paced Rice with 14 points. The Owls shot 33.3 percent overall and 22.7 percent from behind-the-arc for the game.
UCF will open a three-game homestand Wednesday, hosting Southern Miss. Tip-off at the UCF Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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.