Jan. 6, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Behind a game-high 29 points from senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.), the UCF men's basketball team won its 12-straight game at the UCF Arena, defeating Holy Cross, 70-57, Tuesday. The contest served as the final non-league game of the year for the Knights (10-4), who have won five-consecutive games overall.
The Knights will open Conference USA play Saturday, hosting national power Memphis at 5 p.m.
Taylor scored 21 points in the second half and finished with 11-of-17 shooting from the floor. He connected on 4-of-8 3-point field goal attempts. Junior forward Tony Davis (Sarasota, Fla.) went 14-of-16 at the free-throw line and totaled 16 points in the victory.
Holy Cross fell to 5-10 with the loss.
The Knights led 28-24 at the break and pulled away early in the second half thanks to a 17-9 run. Taylor had seven points during the spurt, including a triple that put the hosts up 47-39 with 11:02 to play.
"Our guys handled their matchups well," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "We made the adjustments that we needed to. We were uncomfortable with things early. We kept our poise and composure. We had a good run in the second half where we did not turn it over and had better ball movement which opened up gaps in the zone."
UCF and Holy Cross were meeting for the first time.
The Knights shot 80.8 percent at the free-throw line for the game, hitting 21-of-26 shots. The 14 free throws from Davis tied for second on UCF's single-game foul shots made register.
UCF recorded 15 assists in the win, compared to six for the Crusaders. Sophomore guard Taylor Young (Orlando, Fla.) paced the hosts with six helpers.
UCF's bench accounted for 17 points. In 28 minutes of action as a reserve, freshman guard Isaac Sosa hit two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.
Andrew Keister led Holy Cross with 18 points. The Crusaders shot 44.2 percent overall, but made just 3-of-13 (61.5 percent) from deep.
The contest with Memphis is being billed as a Blackout and fans are encouraged to wear black to the game to support the Knights.
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.