UCF Head Coach Kirk Speraw walked into UCF Arena to cheers of “Kirk, Kirk, Kirk” from the student section Saturday night but left dejected yet again after witnessing one of the youngest teams in the nation squander plenty of opportunities in a bid for an upset in Conference USA.

The Knights put up a valiant effort against Tulsa (17-4, 6-1 C-USA) but trailed throughout the second half before falling 55-50 to the Golden Hurricane.

By coming up on the wrong end of such a tightly contested matchup, focusing on the positives seems the most therapeutic of ways to cope.

Kirk Speraw (Photo by Chris Schubert)

“I’m really proud of our guys and the effort they gave against the preseason No. 1 team in the league,” said Speraw.

He praised the team’s defensive effort afterward but was noticeably bothered by the lack of execution down the stretch.

Still just one win shy of becoming the winningest coach in program history, the milestone for Speraw, in his 17th season, may lack the kind of celebration it otherwise rightfully deserves as UCF has hobbled along over the past month.

The Knights (10-11, 2-5 C-USA) have won just twice in their past nine games, dating back to a 10-point loss to Jacksonville in the UCF Holiday Classic on Dec. 30, 2009, as many contributors are still feeling their way around life at the collegiate level.

“Everytime we step on the court it’s a learning experience,” said Speraw of his kids. “Whether it’s in practice, in games, the travel. Everything we’re doing is a learning experience.”

That includes adjusting to life as a student-athlete for most of them while juggling classes with a lengthy hoops schedule.

“It’s not only tough on them from a basketball standpoint, it would be tough on anybody, but it’s tough on them from an academic standpoint being the fourth-straight week on the road for a mid-week game,” he said of Tuesday’s upcoming game at East Carolina.

After suffering two-straight blowout losses to UTEP (96-59) and SMU (65-43), it seemed to be a bit of bad timing to have Tulsa come to town. But surprisingly, against a team the Knights lost to by 20 points two weeks earlier, UCF was in this one from the opening tip.

And from purely a basketball standpoint, watching the maturation of freshmen forward Keith Clanton and guard Marcus Jordan was worth the price of admission. The two have led the Knights in scoring a combined eight times this season and have made big contributions as of late.

Keith Clanton and Tulsa's Bishop Wheatley (left) and Jerome Jordan. (Photo by Chris Schubert)

Clanton was assertive on Saturday as he dropped a game-high 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. He displayed a knack for making smart decisions while passing the ball and defending a bigger opponent in Tulsa center (and NBA prospect) Jerome Jordan, who was held to 10 points and five boards.

“We wanted to be real aggressive with him,” said Clanton of Jordan. “We wanted to deny him from getting the ball.”

Two late free throws from the Tulsa senior with 19 seconds to play following a UCF turnover put the game away.

Marcus Jordan scored 10 points, dished off five assists and grabbed three rebounds with his dad, Michael Jordan, in attendance.

Unfortunately for the home team though, an ice-cold shooting touch in the second half foiled an impressive opening 20 minutes of play. After making 46-percent of attempts in the first half (and forcing seven turnovers) the Knights drained only 28-percent from the floor in the second half even as they forced Tulsa into 16 turnovers on the night.

Although UCF only turned the ball over six times, they failed to make shots from the free-throw line (12-of-19) and from long range (0-for-12).

“If we could ever get to a point where we could make a jumper or a make a free-throw…” said Speraw. “Those possessions really hurt.”

When the going was good on Saturday, Clanton and Jordan were complemented by the likes of gutsy sophomore point guard A.J. Rompza (four points, four steals, four rebounds, three assists) and veteran junior power forward A.J. Tyler (six points, six rebounds).

But in the end it marked the first win in Orlando for Tulsa in five tries.

“It was very frustrating,” said junior Taylor Young. “We had some key stops but then we didn’t make the play offensively. It was just one of those days.”