Jan. 5, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) of the UCF men's basketball team received more accolades for his stellar play on Monday when he was named the Conference USA Player of the Week for the second-consecutive time. Taylor averaged 32.7 points in three UCF victories last week.
One of the nation's top players, he shot 56.9 percent overall and 40.0 percent from 3-point range as the Knights defeated Penn, Chicago State and Sam Houston State. He averaged only 27.7 minutes per contest, totaling 98 points during the week in only 83 minutes. Taylor also shot 83.9 percent at the free-throw line and averaged 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks.
The league player of the week honor is the fourth of Taylor's career. On the season, he ranks second in the conference, averaging 23.2 points per game.
Taylor began the week by registering 34 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the floor against Penn. He followed that performance with a career-high 38 points against Chicago State in only 29 minutes of action. He shot 13-of-22 overall and 9-of-11 at the line versus the Cougars. The games against Penn and Chicago State were part of the UCF Holiday Classic, and Taylor earned MVP honors at the event.
In the Knights' (9-4) final game of the week, Taylor made 14-of-16 attempts at the charity stripe and finished with 26 points against Sam Houston State.
In addition to being one of the nation's top scorers, Taylor also paces UCF in rebounding this season, averaging 5.2 boards. He is shooting 49.6 percent overall and is also among the C-USA leaders in blocks with 13.
Taylor is a big reason why UCF has won four-consecutive games and is 7-0 at home this season. The Knights will return to action Tuesday, hosting Holy Cross at 7 p.m. at the UCF Arena.
On Saturday, UCF will open C-USA play, hosting national power Memphis at 5 p.m. The contest is being billed a Blackout and fans are encouraged to wear black to the UCF Arena to support the Knights.
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 Memphis game. 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.