March 1, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On Tuesday, the UCF men's basketball team will play its final home game of the season when the Knights host East Carolina at 7 p.m. at the UCF Arena. UCF will be seeking its 10th home victory of the campaign.
In the Knights' (13-15, 5-9 Conference USA) last contest, UCF overcame a 17-point deficit before falling 121-115 to host Marshall in three overtimes Saturday evening. Three UCF players scored at least 20 points, and six Knights fouled out of the game. Junior guard Taylor Young (Orlando, Fla.) scored a career-best 23 points, while freshman forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) had his second-straight double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining in regulation to send the contest into overtime. He connected on six triples versus the Thundering Herd and is the team's leading scorer on the season at 10.6 points. Sophomore guard A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.) dished out 13 assists Saturday and ranks fifth nationally in steals per game (2.7).
Prior to the Tuesday's game, UCF will honor its lone senior, guard Drew Speraw (Oviedo, Fla.). He has appeared in 19 games this season, and is averaging 2.1 points against C-USA opponents.
East Carolina is 9-19 overall and 3-11 in league play. The Pirates feature one of the league's top point guards in Brock Young. He scored 30 points versus Tulsa Saturday and is averaging 15.5 points and a league-high 5.7 assists.
The first 3,000 fans to enter the arena will receive a free UCF Arena panoramic photo and Knightro growth chart.
Tickets for the contest start at just $5. The UCF Arena ticket office will be open before the game. Club seats, which offer upgraded food and beverage service, are also available for the game. With St. Patrick's Day approaching, the Black and Gold Lounge will have an Irish theme, with food and drink specials available. At halftime, club seat ticket holders will have the chance to win a gift card to Raglan Road at Downtown Disney.
UCF students are admitted free to all home games.
The contest will air on the UCF-ISP Sports Network and its flagship station, 740 The Game in Orlando with Marc Daniels and Mike O'Donnell on the call. Live video will be available at UCFAthletics.com.
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.
UCF-East Carolina Series Information
? UCF owns an 11-1 edge in the all-time series with the Pirates
? In Orlando, the Knights are 5-0 versus East Carolina
? The squads met on Feb. 2 in Greenville and the Knights recorded a 67-56 win behind a career-high 16 points from Taylor Young
? UCF forced 20 East Carolina turnovers and shot 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) at the free-throw line
? Young shot 4-of-6 from the field and made all three of his attempts from 3-point range in the win
? In the last series matchup in Orlando, Jermaine Taylor scored 27 of his 36 points after intermission to help the Knights overcome a 17-point deficit and post a 74-71 win on March 7, 2009
? East Carolina led by 17 points with 18:17 to play in the game, but thanks to Taylor, the Knights outscored the Pirates 51-34 after the break
Up Next for the Knights
? UCF will conclude the season Saturday at Rice
? The Knights hosted Rice earlier this year in Orlando and eased to a 77-58 victory on Jan. 9 behind 17 points from Keith Clanton
Last Time Out
? In one of the most memorable games in Conference USA history, UCF overcame a 17-point halftime deficit before falling 121-115 in three overtimes to host Marshall Saturday
? The Knights trailed by seven points with 50 seconds remaining in the contest, and a 35-foot 3-pointer from Isaac Sosa with 1.5 seconds on the clock sent the game into extra sessions
? Six Knights fouled out, and the Thundering Herd made 23-of-33 free throws during the overtime periods
? The Knights, who hit 14 3-pointers, had five players finish with double-figures in scoring, were led by Taylor Young's career-best 23 points
More on the Marshall Game
? The 115 points scored by the Knights were a UCF Division I record
? UCF outscored the hosts 47-30 in the second half
? UCF totaled 27 assists and just 12 turnovers
? The contest served as the third triple-overtime game in UCF history
? UCF's 88 field goal attempts tied for third on the Conference USA single-game register
Minute-by-Minute
? Four Knights - A.J. Rompza (51), Marcus Jordan (45), Keith Clanton (41) and Taylor Young (41) - established new career highs in minutes against Marshall
? Rompza's 51 minutes matched the UCF single-game record, which was originally set by Dave Noel on Jan. 12, 2008, in the Knights' triple-overtime victory over visiting Tulsa
Full House
? When the Knights host East Carolina, UCF will set a new school single-season attendance record
? Through 14 contests, 76,517 fans have watched the Knights play at the UCF Arena
? The school record is 78,253, which was established in 16 games in 2007-08, the inaugural campaign in the new facility
? The Knights are averaging 5,466 spectators, up from 4,390 a year ago
Grand Closing
? UCF has won eight-consecutive home finales
? The Knights' last loss to close the season in Orlando came on Feb. 24, 2001, when Campbell escaped with a 72-69 victory at the old UCF Arena
? Since joining Conference USA in 2005, UCF has faced East Carolina twice for its home finale, winning both times
Big Ten
? The Knights will be seeking their 10th home win of the campaign when they host East Carolina
? UCF has won at least 10 home contests in each of the last seven seasons
Sharing the Rock
? After registering 27 assists at Marshall, the Knights now rank second in Conference USA, averaging 14.7 assists each league contest
? In conference play, the Knights are the only squad in the league with three players in the top 15 in assists: A.J. Rompza (5.2, 3rd), Marcus Jordan (2.8, 13th) and Taylor Young (2.7, 14th)
Double-Duty
? Keith Clanton has recorded double-doubles in two-straight games
? In contests against two of the top-four squads in the league (UAB, Marshall) last week, he averaged 16.5 points and 13.5 boards
? At Marshall Saturday, he totaled a career-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive end
? Last Wednesday versus UAB, he scored 13 points and totaled a season-best 15 rebounds
Facing the Best
? Keith Clanton's best games in Conference USA play have come against the best competition
? In five total contests against UTEP, UAB, Memphis and Marshall, the Orlando native averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 boards
Hit the Freeway
? In Conference USA play, Marcus Jordan is shooting 77.6 percent at the free-throw line, good for 12th in the league
? Jordan totaled 18 points in 45 minutes at Marshall Saturday, and made 7-of-10 attempts at the line
Pass it On
? Marcus Jordan registered seven assists with just one turnover against Marshall
? Jordan has totaled at least five assists on three occasions against league opponents
? He has dished out 64 assists in 2009-10, which ranks third on the team
Thief's Theme
? A.J. Rompza is fifth nationally in steals per game at 2.7
? In Conference USA action, he leads the league in the category (2.6)
? Rompza totaled 46 steals in 29 games last year, and already has 74 this season
?The Chicago native is sixth on the UCF single-season steals register
No Rest for the Weary
? After matching a school record by playing 51 minutes at Marshall Saturday, A.J. Rompza is averaging 33.8 minutes in Conference USA games
? Rompza has logged at least 34 minutes in five-straight games, averaging 39.4 minutes during the span
No Turnover
? At Marshall, A.J. Rompza dished out 13 assists with just two turnovers
? In his last five games, Romzpa recorded 36 assists and only seven turnovers for an incredible 5.1 assist-turnover ratio
? In league games, Rompza ranks first in Conference USA in assist-turnover ratio (2.6)
? On the year, he is sixth in the conference in assists per game with 4.5
? Just a sophomore, the Chicago native already ranks eighth in program history with 272 career assists
Got Five on It
? Isaac Sosa has scored in double-figures in five-straight contests and has hit at least three 3-pointers in seven-consecutive games
? In the Knights' last five games, Sosa averaged 14.6 points and shot 18-of-37 (48.6 percent) from deep
? The sophomore struggled with his shooting touch in January, as he shot just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from 3-point range and averaged 5.5 points during the month
? In February, Sosa averaged 13.7 points on 49.0 shooting from deep
? He made 6-of-9 attempts from long distance and scored 20 points at Marshall Saturday
? Sosa, who is averaging a team-high 10.6 points on the year, has made 65-of-149 3-point tries in 2009-10, and his 3-point field-goal percentage (43.6) ranks second in Conference USA
? The sophomore has made 122-of-275 (44.4 percent) 3-point attempts during his UCF career
Hey Young World
? Taylor Young shot 8-of-11 from the floor and connected on 4-of-5 shots from deep on his way to a career-best 23 points at Marshall Saturday
? In UCF's last seven games, the junior led the squad in scoring twice and averaged 9.0 points
? He shot 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range during that span
? Young is averaging 6.5 points this season