ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Following impressive wins over Temple and No. 15 Cincinnati, UCF sophomore guard B.J. Taylor was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
An Orlando native, Taylor led his hometown team in scoring in both games, as the Knights improved to 19-10 overall and 10-7 in The American. UCF is now in fourth place in the league with the top five teams earning byes in the conference tournament, scheduled to begin March 9 in Hartford.
Taylor scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half at Temple as UCF won 71-69 in Philadelphia. The point guard shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, including a step-back three to seal the deal late in the game.
As UCF returned home for its final game at CFE Arena this season, Taylor stepped his game up once again. He scored a season high 27 points and hit another three makes from long distance to secure the Knights' 53-49 victory over No. 15 Cincinnati.
The win was the fourth ever for UCF over a nationally ranked opponent and the first since 2011, when the Knights defeated then No. 4 UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas. It's just the second win over a ranked opponent at home for UCF and the first inside CFE Arena.
Taylor leads the Knights and is ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference with 17.2 points per game. He's also 10th in assists with 3.6 per game and is 14th in free throw percentage at 72.6 percent from the stripe.
Joining Tacko Fall as the only Knights to ever be named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Taylor is a former AAC All-Rookie Team honoree and was named The American Rookie of the Week three times back in 2014-15.
UCF will finish out the regular season on Thursday when the Knights head to Tampa to take on USF. The second match-up between the two teams in the War On I-4 Rivalry Series is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPNU.
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