Nov. 4, 2010
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
Donnie Jones Postgame Press Conference
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - With its season opener just over a week away, the UCF men's basketball team experienced another first under new head coach Donnie Jones Thursday evening. In Jones' first time at the helm of the Knights inside the UCF Arena, UCF defeated Flagler, 78-70, in an exhibition contest.
The game was UCF's lone preseason contest before its regular-season debut on Nov. 12 against visiting West Florida.
Flagler is coached by former UCF All-America selection Bo Clark, and his experienced Saints team pushed a UCF squad that is still learning how to compete in Jones' up-tempo system.
"I thought Flagler played very well," Jones said. "(They are) a really well-coached team. Bo does a great job. They have five seniors out there too. For our team, there are a lot of things that they are trying to do... a lot of thinking."
A pair of Knights had double-doubles in the win as sophomore forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds, and senior forward A.J. Tyler (Palm Harbor, Fla.) recorded 14 points and 13 boards. The Knights were led by sophomore guard Marcus Jordan (Chicago, Ill.), who scored 19 points.
UCF led by as many as 15 points in the second half and finished the game with a 49-32 edge on the glass. The Knights made 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) of their attempts at the free-throw line.
The Saints were led by John Pietkiewicz, who scored a game-high 20 points.
Nine UCF players logged at least 10 minutes as Jones and his staff continue to experiment with different combinations on the floor. Jones said after the game that he expects his team to learn from the contest against Flagler and continue to understand more about his style of play in practice each day.
"As a new coach, I am still trying to figure out what they can and can't do. We've had about two weeks of practice, and they are trying to do things that they have never done before. We will just continue to work at it," he said.