Feb. 26, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior guard Jermaine Taylor's (Tavares, Fla.) 45-point performance versus Rice Wednesday night was not only the best scoring game in UCF's Division I history, the showing was also one of the finest in the Conference USA annals. Taylor now ranks third nationally in scoring at 26.1 points per game.
His scoring total versus the Owls was good for second in C-USA history, trailing only Robert McKiver of Houston and the 52 points he recorded against Southern Miss a year ago. Taylor is averaging 28.7 points in league play.
The 45-point showing was good for fourth on the UCF single-game register. Bo Clark is first on the list with 70 points against Florida Memorial in 1977. Taylor became the first Knight to eclipse the 40-point mark since Mark Jones registered 42 against Saint Thomas in 1997. The performance Wednesday marked the fourth-consecutive game that Taylor scored over 40 points.
An All-America candidate, Taylor has led the Knights in scoring in 26 of the squad's 27 contests this year.
He now ranks sixth all-time at C-USA with 1,871 points. Rodney Carney (Memphis, 2003-06) is fifth with 1,901 points.
Taylor and the Knights have three regular-season contests remaining. The squad will return to action Saturday at Marshall. Tip-off 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.
Notes: The Knights are scheduled to practice in Orlando Thursday afternoon and then head to West Virginia on Friday morning... On Jan. 25, UCF defeated visiting Marshall 87-69... Sophomore forward A.J. Tyler (Palm Harbor, Fla.) grabbed a game-high nine boards versus Rice. He averaged 10.0 boards in UCF's last two contests.