Triple the Fun

Jan. 14, 2015

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com

Box Score (pdf) | Box Score (html) | Social Media Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery | Infographic

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - It took nearly three hours of basketball, but after three overtime periods UCF defeated Tulane by a score of 103-100 at CFE Arena Wednesday night. Freshman B.J. Taylor led the Knights with a career high 33 points and scored 11 of the team's 12 points in the third overtime.

"I'm really proud of the guys tonight," head coach Donnie Jones said. "Obviously, it was a great game. There was a reason they came in here 3-1. Ed [Conroys] has done a great job with his basketball team and when you get to conference play, anything can happen as you could see."

UCF and Tulane were tied at the end of each break except for the final buzzer. The two squads were tied at 38-38 at halftime, tied at 73-73 at the end of regulation, and tied twice more as each of the first two overtimes came to a close.

It was the third and final overtime, behind Taylor's 11 points, that the Knights (9-7, 2-3) were able to gain the advantage. The Orlando native opened the frame with his second three-pointer of the game and followed it up with two driving layups and four free throws as UCF took a two-point lead with 12 seconds left.

One more from the charity stripe by junior Staphon Blair gave UCF the 103-100 advantage that would end up as the final score. The Green Wave (12-5, 3-2) had a pair of three-point attempts in the final seconds that were off the mark and UCF earned its first home conference win of the season.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

TAYLOR GOES FOR 33, OWNS OVERTIME
The freshman had scored just 18 points in his last two game combined, but Taylor came out ready to go against the Green Wave. He finished with a career high 33 points on 11-of-20 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Taylor scored 17 of his 33 points in the three overtime periods, which included 11 in the final overtime alone. The point guard got to the rim with ease, taking hit after hit in the lane, and getting to the free throw line. His 9-of-10 performance from the line was integral, given the Knights' woes from the stripe.
- The rest of the Knights went just 16-of-33 from the free throw line.

Listen in as Marc Daniels calls one of many Taylor and-ones on the night.

BLAIR IS A BEAST WITH FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE
- The UCF forward finished with career highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
- His previous bests were 14 points and eight rebounds.
- It marked Blair's first career double-double.
- He added two steals and two vicious blocks.

FIRST TRIPLE OVERTIME GAME SINCE 2010 AGAINST MARSHALL
It took three overtimes for UCF to come away with the victory Wednesday night. The last time the Knights played three overtimes was Feb. 27, 2010 and they weren't as fortunate. On that day UCF fell to Marshall on the road by a score of 121-115. The coach of the Thundering Herd in that game was Donnie Jones.

FIVE KNIGHTS IN DOUBLE FIGURES FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON
- Sophomore Brandon Goodwin, senior Kasey Wilson, and freshman Adonys Henriquez joined Taylor and Blair in double figures.
- Goodwin went for 18 points, four boards and four assists.
- Wilson netted a season high of 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
- Henriquez chipped in with 11 points, scoring in double figures for the 12th time this season and the seventh game in a row.

UCF REMAINS UNDEFEATED WHEN SHOOTING OVER 50 PERCENT
The Knights came into Wednesday's game a perfect 5-0 when shooting .500 or better. That didn't change against Tulane as UCF went 34-of-65 for a field goal percentage of .523. The Knights, who also came in leading the league in three-point shooting at .377, went 10-of-23 from beyond the arc for a .435 percentage from long distance.

POSTGAME AUDIO
Head Coach Donnie Jones

B.J. Taylor, Staphon Blair

NEXT UP FOR THE KNIGHTS
UCF will next head on the road for a pair of games, beginning with a tilt at Memphis Saturday. The Knights and Tigers are scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNews.

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