March 4, 2009
TULSA, Okla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) totaled a game-high 29 points and established a Conference USA record as the UCF men's basketball team fell 79-70 to Tulsa Wednesday at the Reynolds Center. The All-America candidate has now scored 430 points in league play this campaign, good for a C-USA single-season record.
Tulsa (21-9, 11-4 C-USA) used 19 second-half points from Jerome Jordan to pull away from the Knights (16-13, 6-9). Jordan finished with 28 points in the win.
The Golden Hurricane shot 51.9 percent overall and made 34 trips to the foul line, making 22 attempts. UCF was whistled for 31 fouls, compared to 21 for the hosts. The first half featured a 14-5 foul disparity in favor of Tulsa.
"Our guys are playing hard and giving it their all," UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. "I am proud of the effort. We just couldn't get the extra stop when we needed it. Jerome Jordan is one of the best players in the country and he had a big game."
Tulsa led 36-26 at the break and went up 11 points with 5:31 to play in the game after Ray Reese canned a 3-pointer. Taylor then hit a pair of free throws that started a 9-2 run that cut the Tulsa edge to 67-63 with 3:53 on the clock. Senior center Kenrick Zondervan (Hoofddorp, Holland) capped the run with a traditional 3-point play.
Jordan then scored the Golden Hurricane's next six points to put the game out of reach for UCF.
Taylor, who shot 10-of-22 overall, was one of three Knights to finish with double-digits in scoring. Sophomore forward A.J. Tyler (Palm Harbor, Fla.) recorded 15 points and freshman guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) hit three treys and finished with 11 points.
UCF shot 45.3 percent overall.
UCF will conclude the regular season Saturday, hosting East Carolina. Tip-off at the UCF Arena is set for 7 p.m. The contest will serve as the final home contest for Taylor and Zondervan.
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.