– National Basketball Association – Chicago 102, Magic 99

Jameer Nelson was just a second late on his release from beyond the arc as time expired Sunday at the Amway Center. The Bulls (60-20) wrapped up the top seed in the East with the win. The Magic (50-30) was playing without Dwight Howard, who was out due to suspension following a technical foul earlier in the week. Ryan Anderson scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Howard’s place.

– College Baseball – UCF 8, Tulane 7

The Knights trailed 7-0 at one point but avoided the sweep after getting four runs in the ninth inning. D.J. Hicks ended the game with a two-run single off the wall in right field to help UCF improve to 21-11 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. UCF lost 10-8 on Friday and 6-5 on Saturday.

– College Softball – East Carolina 1, UCF 0

After winning both games on Saturday at ECU (3-2; 1-0) the Knights could not finish the sweep on Sunday. The lone run of the game came unearned in the bottom of the fifth inning on a fielder’s choice error. UCF drops to 15-23 overall and 5-7 in Conference USA.

= SATURDAY, April 9, 2011 =

– Women’s College Tennis – UCF 4, Stetson 3

The victory over Stetson (16-5) gives the Knights its 10th win in a season for the 20 straight years. After dropping two of the three doubles matches, UCF came up with big wins at the top three singles spots and at No. 6 to close out the day.

= FRIDAY, April 8, 2011 =

– College Baseball – (#8) Tampa 8, Rollins 7

The Tars dropped to 2-8 in the Sunshine State Conference despite multiple hits from Tony Brunetti, Kevin Mager and Winter Park High School alum Nick Adams. Tampa took a 6-4 advantage by posting runs in the fifth and sixth innings before going on to lead 8-5 following a pair of runs in the eighth. The Tars went on to drop the following two games 16-4 and 10-3 in the series.

= THURSDAY, April 7, 2011 =

– Women’s College Tennis – UCF 6, North Florida 1

UCF improved to 9-7 with the win over UNF (12-5). The Knights will host the C-USA Women’s Tennis Championship April 21-24 at the Lake Cane Tennis Center in Orlando. Admission is free for all fans.

= WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2011 =

– National Basketball Association – Magic 111, Charlotte 102 (OT)

Dwight Howard was called for his 18th technical of the season, Quentin Richardson was tossed from the game and Gilbert Arenas had his best outing as a member of the Orlando Magic as the Bobcats were eliminated from playoff contention. Despite five turnovers, Arenas led the Magic with 25 points.

– Men’s College Tennis – (#9) Rollins 9, (#25) Florida Southern 0

Rollins improved to 13-7 on the year as No. 12 Jeff Morris defeated Ivan Marevic 7-6 (10-2), 6-2 and No. 37 Arturo Baravalle put away Benoit Paradis 6-2, 6-4 in the top singles matches. Morris and Baravalle also teamed up for an 8-3 win in doubles, where they are ranked No. 14 as a pair.

– College Baseball – Rollins 2, Florida Tech 1

Kevin Mager hit a two-run homer in the first inning before the Tars (20-14) went on to hold off the Panthers (20-13) the rest of the way on Wednesday. Steven Gropler earned the win in his first start of the year.

= TUESDAY, April 5, 2011 =

– National Basketball Association – Magic 78, Milwaukee 72

Despite a tough night from the field and 21 turnovers, the Orlando Magic clinched the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with the win. The Magic missed 19 straight 3-point shots after making its first two. Dwight Howard finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds. The Bucks went on an 18-2 run to tie the game at 72-all with 2:02 left.

= MONDAY, April 4, 2011 =

– Women’s College Lacrosse – (#9) Rollins 22, Millersville 6

Freshman Caroline Lamere, out of Lake Brantley High School, and Marissa Giannerini each led the Tars by scoring five goals and finishing with an assist in the win. Rollins improves to 9-3 on the season.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 7, Bethune-Cookman 0

The Knights (9-11) routed BCU in its final home contest of the season, which also served as the final appearance at the UCF Tennis Complex for Blaze Schwartz. The senior earned his ninth win at No. 3 singles against Santiago Lobelo 6-0, 6-3 and joined Joe Delinks for an 8-1 win over Jeffrey Smallwood and Marc Misanovic in No. 1 doubles.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 9 Rollins 14, Edinboro 7

Two Tars tallied hat tricks to help Rollins improve to 8-3 on the season. Marissa Giannerini and Sophie Townsend each scored three goals while Erica Pagliarulo finished with two goals and an assist.

– College Softball – No. 12 Tampa 3, No. 7 Rollins 1

Rollins dropped the final game in the series to Tampa, giving the Tars its first loss of the season in Sunshine State Conference competition. Rollins saw its 32-game winning streak end as they dropped to 34-2 overall and 11-1 in the SSC. Jessica Moreland finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hope Bitzer pitched five innings and struck out seven batters in relief.

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 5, No. 23 UCF 2

Following a 13-2 loss on Saturday, UCF got swept by Southern Miss after falling 5-2 in the third and final game of the series. UCF trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning but was unable to tie the game when Erik Hempe had his line drive towards left field turned into a double play by the Golden Eagles.

= SATURDAY, April 2, 2011 =

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

Two UCF school records fell at the Florida Relays in Gainesville as Dominique Booker, Aurieyall Scott, Lynne Layne and Sheila Paul set new standards. The 4×100-meter relay time of 43.75, set just the week before, was replaced by a 43.53 effort. The 4×200-meter relay mark of 1:32.81 from three years ago was replaced by a time of 1:26.34.

– College Baseball – Rollins 15, Lynn 7

The Tars dropped the first game of the doubleheader 12-3 before returning to the field and snapping a five-game losing streak. Rollins jumped out to a 9-3 lead after scoring runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Brian Lattanzi went 3-for-5 and John Avanzino finished 2-for-4 with 5 RBI. Matt White got the win with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings to help the Tars improve to 19-14 overall and 2-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

– Arena Football League – Arizona 48, Predators 47

Nick Hill was intercepted in the final minute of the game before the Arizona Rattlers went on to score a touchdown and two-point conversion with eight seconds left to shock the Orlando Predators. Arizona outscored the Preds 22-6 in the final quarter after Orlando jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play. Hill threw five touchdowns but was intercepted twice while Bobby Sippio led the Preds with 12 receptions for 149 yards and a score.

– Florida Football Alliance – Rage 37, Duval 6

Former UCF and University High School quarterback Kyle Israel threw touchdown passes to Preston McGann and Jeremiah Chatman as the Orlando Rage closed out the regular season with a 10-0 mark. With the win over the Duval Panthers, the Rage wrapped up consecutive unbeaten seasons and improved to 31-1 over the past three years. Postseason play begins this weekend. The Rage will host the winner between the Jacksonville Knights and Daytona Beach Wildcats on April 16.

– United Soccer Leagues – Richmond 2, Lions 0

Richmond scored on a penalty kick near the end of the first half and tacked on another goal in the 84th minute to turn away Orlando City in its first-ever USL Pro game.

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 4 Barry 8, No. 9 Rollins 1

Rollins senior Margaret Junker, ranked No. 17 in the nation, won the lone match for the Tars as she defeated No. 33 Angie Werschel 7-5, 3-6, 10-5.

= FRIDAY, April 1, 2011 =

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 6, No. 23 UCF 5

UCF manager Terry Rooney and pitcher Ben Lively were tossed from the game, but the Knights nearly pulled the upset after being tied at 3-all in the ninth. UCF fell to 19-7 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA. The Knights committed a season-high five errors and are now 4-3 against ranked teams.

– Men’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 26 Saint Leo 3

The Tars improved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sunshine State Conference as No. 5 Jeff Morris overcame a loss in the first set to put away Matt Nicholson-Lewis 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Morris and Arturo Baravalle were upended in doubles play by the No. 23 pairing of Nicholson-Lewis and Victor Lozier 8-5.

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 2 Lock Haven 12, No. 9 Rollins 7

Tied at 5-all at the halftime break, Rollins (7-3) could not keep up with unbeaten Lock Haven (9-0) while on the road. Tori Snow and Marissa Giannerini each scored two goals in the loss for Rollins.

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

UCF freshman Aurieyall Scott set a new school record in the 200 meter with a time of 22.98 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Classmate Dominique Booker previously held the mark at 23.70, set last week at the UCF Invitational.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

= WEDNESDAY, March 30, 2011

– National Basketball Association – Hawks 85, Magic 82

In a preview of what may turn out to be an opening-round matchup in the playoffs, the Orlando Magic could not hang on down the scratch against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks finished the regular season with three of four wins over the Magic. Jameer Nelson scored 20 points and had five assists. Dwight Howard (13 rebounds) and Hedo Turkoglu (8 rebounds, 5 assists) each scored 17 points.

= TUESDAY, March 29, 2011

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 11 Florida Southern 3

The Tars improved to 14-4 overall and 4-1 in the Sunshine State Conference. No. 29 Roshni Luthra defeated No. 31 Agnese Rozite 6-4, 6-4 in the top singles match and also teamed up with Allie Steele to win convisincingly in doubles competition. No. 17 Margeret Junker was upset in the second singles match by No. 32 Sabine Goge 6-3, 6-4.

= MONDAY, March 28, 2011

– National Basketball Association – Knicks 113, Magic 106

The Magic played the final moments of overtime without Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu after both fouled out in the extra period. Howard finished with a team-high 29 points and 18 rebounds despite turning the ball over five times. Turkoglu finished with 18 points, four assists and three turnovers. The Magic, who was without Jameer Nelson (sprained left knee), J.J. Redick (strained lower abdomen) and Quentin Richardson (lower back), turned the ball over 21 times overall in the loss.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

The impressive college basketball career of Rollins College guard Nick Wolf was topped off with the senior being named a First Team All-American by Division II Bulletin and Second Team All-American by Basketball Times.

Wolf was also named to the First Team All-South Region by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He garnered Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year for the second time in his career, was named SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the First-Team All-SSC squad for the third straight season.

The Cincinnati native averaged 21.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while leading the Tars to their second straight conference regular season and tournament titles.

Rollins was the third seed in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament but lost to Florida Southern, 76-74, despite game-highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds from Wolf.

Rollins finished the season 25-7, earning 20 or more wins for the third straight season and fifth time in the past six years.

Wolf led Rollins to a record of 91-32 during the course of four years, to tying for the most wins in school history. He is the Tars’ all-time second leading scorer with 2,035 points while also ranking second in rebounds with 1,046. He is the only 2,000 point-1,000 rebound player in Rollins basketball history.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Men’s College Lacrosse – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Rollins 12

Despite a program record six goals in one game by junior Austin Ricci the Rollins Tars dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the Deep South Conference on Sunday. It’s the first-ever conference win for Lenoir-Rhyne, who broke an 11-all tie with under eight minutes to play to take the lead for good.

– College Softball – UAB 5, UCF 3

The Knights allowed five runs in the third inning and never recovered as they dropped to 12-22 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers (24-9, 8-1 C-USA) took two of three games after splitting with UCF on Saturday.

= SATURDAY, March 26, 2011

– Arena Football League – Predators 68, Blaze 53

Orlando Predators quarterback Nick Hill went 24-of-36 for 331 yards and eight touchdowns while Rayshaun Kizer intercepted three passes and ran one back for a score Saturday night. The Predators (2-0) downed the Utah Blaze (1-1) in its first game at the new Amway Center in front of 12,186 fans.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Freshman Dominique Booker set two new school records on Saturday during the second day of competition at the UCF Invitational. Booker set a new mark in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.70, good for fourth place and enough to surpass the previous mark set by Sonnisha Williams (23.79) just last week. Booker also joined Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Tyler Smith in the 4×400-meter relay, where the group took first place with a time of 43.73 (previous mark was 45.05).

– United Soccer Leagues – Lions 2, USF 0

The Orlando City Lions wrapped up its preseason schedule Saturday in Tampa, where they got goals from Yordany Alvarez (30th minute) and Jamie Watson (60th) on assists from Devorn Jorsling in the win. The Lions finished the preseason schdule 6-2 with wins over Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Toronto FC (1-0) of Major League Soccer as well as Rollins (3-1), UCF (5-1) and Stetson (5-3). Orlando City lost to FC Dallas (1-0) and BK Hacken (3-2). The reguler season begins this weekend on the road against Richmond.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 4, NO. 53 DePaul 3

Facing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent in a row, the Knights clinched the win over DePaul when freshman Mitch Thams won the final two sets of a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 match against Filip Dzanko at No. 5 singles.

= FRIDAY, March 25, 2011

– College Baseball – UCF 7, No. 23 Rice 2

Despite a school-record eight walks, freshman Ben Lively improved to 5-0 on the season while D.J. Hicks went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a scoreless inning in UCF’s Conference USA opener at Rice (15-10, 0-1 C-USA). Lively is the first pitcher at UCF to start the season perfect in five games since Ray Rodriguez and Darren Newlin did so in 2005. Joe Rogers picked up the save. The Knights trailed 2-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the top of the fifth. UCF turned a season-high four double plays in the win and improved to 17-5 overall and 1-0 in C-USA.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams broke her own school record in the long jump by five-and-a-half inches to take first place in the event during the opening day of the UCF Invitational. Williams went 20-11.75/6.39m at the UCF Track and Field Complex to best the previous mark of 20-6.25/6.25m set last May at the NCAA East Regional. Competition picks back up on Saturday with Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennessee and Rhode Island taking part.

– National Basketball Association – Magic 95, Nets 85

The Magic won its fifth game in a row after pulling away from New Jersey with just over eight minutes to play in the fouth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu went 8-for-11 from the field for 20 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in the win while Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Already playing without J.J. Redick, Orlando (47-26) lost Jameer Nelson to a knee injury in the first half.

– College Softball – Rollins 10, Lynn 0

The Tars improved to 30-1 overall and 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference in the opening game of its series against Lynn (6-26, 1-6 SSC). Rollins scored eight runs in the second inning as Krista Rodden, Lake Mary alum Hope Bitzer, Winter Springs alum Christine Roser and Hilary Brown drove in runs. Kristen Frame, the reigning confernce player of the week, struck out six in five innings.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Rollins (25-7), ranked No. 16 in the nation, claimed the Sunshine State Conference regular season and tournament titles but were eliminated by Florida Southern 76-74 on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds to play in Hunstville, Ala.

While Florida Southern (23-8) shot 15-of-20 from the foul line, the Tars made just 19-of-32 attempts from the stripe, including only 4-of-11 in the final four minutes.

Nick Wolf ended his career at Rollins by scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Wolf leaves Rollins at No. 2 all-time on the school’s list with 2,035 points and 1,046 rebounds.

The game featured nine ties and 13 lead changes.

Rollins tied the game at 71-all with 2:22 remaining before Wolf put the Tars on top with a layup. But Florida Southern answered with a pair of free throws to tie the game back up at 73-all with 53 seconds to play.

Wolf split a pair of free throws from there, and Rollins held Florida Southern without a basket in their next two looks at the basket. Ian Scott went on to missed two free throws with 10 seconds to play, leaving the door open for Florida Southern’s Dominic Lane to nail the winning shot from the left corner.

( – Below is an edited version of 2010-11 recap as released by Rollins Sports – )

Rollins was picked first in the conference preseason poll and lived up to the billing, setting a new school record for consecutive SSC victories (11) and tying a program-best 13 conference wins.

Rollins started the year ranked No. 17 in the NABC Division II Coaches poll and split games at the season opening Gulf South/Sunshine State Challenge. They then rattled off four straight victories, including a conference win over Nova Southeastern, and climbed to No. 15 in the polls before a setback at Palm Beach Atlantic dropped them out.

An early statement win came in the Great Western Shootout as the Tars downed then-No. 5 Central Washington by ten and completed the Sin City sweep with a win over Western Washington. The Tars closed 2010 with a runner-up finish at the Winter Park Rotary Tangerine Tournament, falling to Winston Salem State by seven in a thrilling final.

After a loss to Tampa on Jan. 2, the Tars hit their stride in a big way by winning 12 straight, avenging the loss to Palm Beach Atlantic, and rising to No. 18 in the Division II poll. The streak also allowed Rollins to build a three-game lead in the SSC standings with three games to play. Losses on the road to Florida Southern and Florida Tech kept the outright title at bay, but Rollins took care of business in the season finale, thrashing Lynn 93-68 and claiming the honors.

As the top seed in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament, the Tars blew out Barry in the opening round, held off Tampa in the semifinals and won a hard-fought battle over Eckerd in the championship. The title was the fourth in program history.

Nick Wolf, the only player in Rollins history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, was the unanimous pick for SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He was also named SSC Player of the Year and led Rollins into postseason play by averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Wolf’s 91 victories are tied for the most in program history.

Matt Robertson entered Saturday’s game averaging 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while Myk Brown was putting up 12.2 points a game. Ian Scott led the team in steals (55) and Chris Malcolm was tops in blocks (46) for the Tars.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

The Florida Collegiate Summer League recently announced the formation of a new wood-bat baseball league to its operations beginning this summer.

The Futures Wood-bat League (FWL) will provide an opportunity for graduated high school seniors and current college players the chance to tune their skills and get a head start on their college baseball careers prior to ever walking on campus.

FWL players will consist of those who have signed National Letters of Intent and are on pace to play college baseball in the Fall of 2011. The league will provide a collegiate-level playing experience for its participants.

The FWL will consist of four teams with small rosters, ensuring adequate playing time and repetitions for all participants. Each team will play a 20-25 game season on the same quality fields that Florida Collegiate Summer League teams use. Games will be played locally in Central Florida during the months of June and July.

“With the launch of the FWL, we are pleased to provide a transitional and highly competitive opportunity for the college baseball stars of tomorrow,” FCSL Vice-President and FWL Director Stefano Foggi said. ”The league will feature some of the best players from the state of Florida, and will be the highest level of play available at this age.”

More information is available by emailing sfoggi@floridaleague.com or calling 321-206-9174.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Sharpen your No. 2 pencils, kids. We’re going back to school…

= UCF’s Darnell Sweeney out to hot start =

Dear local baseball fans, you’ll be hearing plenty about UCF shortstop Darnell Sweeney over the next few years.

On Monday the sophomore was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week for helping the Knights go 3-1 with wins over Bethune-Cookman, South Alabama and No. 29 Alabama. UCF’s record now stands at 6-1 with the lone loss coming in a 7-2 setback to Southeastern Louisiana. But more on that game later.

In those four games last week, Sweeney went 11-for-17 at the plate (.647) with 6 RBIs, 5 doubles, 3 walks, a stolen base and a 1.759 on-base percentage. Most impressive for the switch hitter was that he never struck out and was perfect on 19 opportunities in the field.

It’s the second career C-USA weekly honor for Sweeney. He is currently batting .500 on the year, which is tops in the conference.

= Streak ends for Taylor in tie with Myers =

The impressive consecutive-game hit streak for UCF junior catcher Beau Taylor finally came to an end last week.

In a 9-4 win against South Alabama, Taylor logged a hit in his 26th-straight game dating back to last season. That tied him for the longest such stretch in program history previously set by Mike Myers in 2001.

But the streak ended in a loss on Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana. The Knights begin a 13-game home stand on Wednesday against Maine at 4 p.m.

= UCF women lock up No. 2 slot in C-USA =

Following an up-and-down start the season the UCF women’s basketball team have since turned things around in a big way.

Last week the Knights (18-10 overall, 11-4 in C-USA) secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Conference USA Tournament in El Paso, Texas being held March 9-12.

The Knights won the 2009 conference tournament as the No. 5 seed under head coach Joi Williams, who was named the league’s coach of the year.

UCF, winners of seven in a row, host its regular season finale and Senior Night on Thursday against Memphis at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports. Admission for all fans is free. The first 250 fans will receive a UCF women’s basketball t-shirt. The first 500 fans through the doors will receive a free poster of UCF’s five seniors.

Playing in their final home game at UCF will be Jelisa Caldwell, D’Nay Daniels, Angelica Mealing, Leah Paige and Chelsie Wiley.

= Rollins men claim No. 1 seed in SSC =

As expected, the Rollins College men’s basketball team won the Sunshine State Conference regular season title for the second year in a row with a 93-68 triumph of Lynn on Saturday.

Rollins (22-6 overall, 13-3 in SSC) entered the week ranked No. 18 in Division II. They have now won at least a share of six of the last nine regular season titles under head coach Tom Klusman. The Tars move on to defend its Sunshine State Conference Tournament title on Wednesday in the opening round as hosts against No. 8 Barry at 7 p.m.

Senior Nick Wolf leads the SSC in scoring with 20.6 points per game, is second in rebounding with 10.1 per game and seventh in assists with three per game. Wolf recently surpassed his uncle, Jeff Wolf, for third on the school’s all-time scoring list. He is well on his way to finishing out his career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Senior Matt Robertson ranks ninth in the league with 14.8 points and eighth in rebounds with 6.2, while junior Myk Brown is No. 14 in scoring with 13 points per game.

Timber Creek High School alum Chris Malcolm ranks third in the league in blocked shots with 1.6 per game. He set the new school record for blocks in a game when he swatted away nine shots against Saint Leo last month. He broke the previous mark of eight blocks set by Frode Loftesnes against Saint Leo in 1995.

= New 3-point record set at Rollins =

The record books continued to be rewritten at Rollins College last month.

On Feb. 12 against Saint Leo, Amber Heistan broke the school record for most 3-pointers in a game when she connected on seven treys in a 73-50 win. Heistan went 7-of-8 from deep and finished with a career-high 21 points and five steals in the win.

Jessica Pressley hit six 3-pointers in a game three different times for Rollins while Jennifer Gossett and Nicole Sullivan each made six shots in a game from beyond the mark once.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Carter scored on a 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries. Parker finished with two sacks and a forced fumble for the East in a 25-8 win.

The West leads the all-time series 45-36. It’s the third win in a row for the East, who was coached throughout the week by Dan Reeves and assistants Shawn Jefferson, Sam Mills and Steve Atwater, among others. Wade Phillips was head coach of the West.

Defensive end Bruce Miller and offensive tackle Jah Reid represented UCF in the contest, which was played in front of an announced crowd of 9,642. Both started at their positions for the East.

“It was a great opportunity to get out there and show a little bit of what you’ve got,” Miller said. “And we had a blast doing it.”

Miller helped force a punt when the defensive coverage by the East gave him ample time to chase down Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle for a sack in the third quarter.

Reid did his part as well, despite being called for a penalty.

“It’s a great way to sum up my college career right here in Orlando, at home,” Reid said. “I’ll never forget it.”

The East gained 301 yards of total offense. The West gained just 126 yards on the day.

(– Edited version of release from UCF Athletics –)

“They’re great players and you can see why their program has done so well,” Reeves said of UCF’s Miller and Reid. “The enthusiasm and the way those guys concentrated and worked hard paid off. This is a short week. This is tough. People don’t understand how tough it is for these players to have this much thrown at them this quickly. I can’t tell you how tough that is. They didn’t have any problem with it at all. It shows you what kind of players they are.”

“Jah Reid has a real bright future playing in the National Football League. It’s hard to find guys that big that have the kind of foot quickness that he’s got. I was working with the offense and guys like Bruce showed up all the time. He was one of the ones getting to the quarterback in practice. You hope that he carries that on to the game and you saw that he could do that.”

Miller and Reid both were quick to credit their time with the Knights as a prime reason for why they stand on the cusp of earning an NFL paycheck.

“UCF got me here,” Miller said. “My coaches and the players that I’ve been able to play with are the reason that I’m here. I’m very grateful for everything that they’ve done for me. It sure does help prepare you. The work that we put in and learning to do things the right way is what the scouts and coaches want to see when I’m out here. They want the work ethic and intensity on the practice field and I was able to show that.”

“Coach O’Leary definitely prepares us for the next level with how we think about the game, how we practice, it all carried over,” Reid said.

Miller for one certainly enjoyed the experience of playing in the East-West Shrine Game.

“It was a blast out there. I came over here to the stadium very excited about the week. I was able to come over here last year and watch Torell (Troup) play for the week so I knew a little bit of what it was going to be like but I was excited getting out here and running around with some of these guys that you watch on TV and then you get to meet them. It was great to get out there. The talent level was top-notch. These are thebest college football players in the country and it was fun to see where you stack up against them.”

Reid also relished the opportunity to play his final collegiate event in the shadow of both his hometown of Haines City and also the campus that he called home.

“It feels great,” he said of the experience this past week. “I had over 30 people at will call. I had a lot of family here and friends.”

Miller believes that he did what he needed to do this week before moving on to the NFL Combine next month in Indianapolis.

“I showed work ethic,” he said. “I didn’t make as many plays as I wanted to but they knew that every day I was going to work. I was going to give great effort and that was important to me.”

Reid, still under consideration for a combine invitation, feels that he did well this week, too.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said. “There’s always room for improvement. The competition was so great. To be able to play in this game with such great athletes was an honor and I had a great time.”

Clermont native Gregory Lloyd II and Lake Brantley alum Patrick DiMarco, a fullback for the West, were among a handful of local players taking part in the game.

Lloyd II, out of Connecticut, led the East with 5 tackles. Florida defensive end Justin Trattou finished with 4 tackles (2 for loss), a sack and pass breakup while Buffalo cornerback Josh Thomas had 4 tackles, a fumble recovery and pass breakup.

Other defensive standouts for the East included Ohio State linebacker Brian Rolle (2 tackles, forced fumble, pass breakup), Tennessee defensive end Chris Walker (2 tackles, forced fumble), Miami cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke (2 tackles, fumble recovery), Nebraska defensive end Pierre Allen (sack, forced fumble) and Penn State defensive tackle Olong Ogbu (sack). Iowa State strong safety David Sims intercepted a pass.

Oklahoma State linebacker Orie Lemon led the West with 8 tackles (2 for loss) while Central Michigan linebacker Nicholas Bellore had 6 tackles and Boise State cornerback Brandyn Thompson had 5 tackles. Boise State linebacker Winston Venable finished with 4 tackles (1 for loss) and an interception.

Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs passed for 51 yards on 5-of-10 attempts and rushed for 40 yards on five carries for the East. Penn State running back Evan Royster rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and Texas tight end Greg Smith led all receivers with four catches for 77 yards before dislocating his shoulder.

– More Highlights From 2011 East-West Shrine Game –

– 1st Quarter – Hawaii’s Alex Green fumbled away possession of the ball on the opening play of the game. The East took over at the 16-yard line, from which Carter worked his way around the right end and beat a defender to the goal line at the 14:38 mark.

The early troubles for the West continued as Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien was sacked on successive plays. Parker was in on the first sack while the second came from Oregon’s Kenny Rowe, who forced a fumble that resulted in a safety with 8:59 to go.

The East had no trouble finding the end zone once again following the kick as Royster extended the lead to 16-0 with 4:23 remaining on a four-yard run up the middle.

– 2nd Quarter – After missing a 27-yard field goal attempt, Auburn’s Wes Byrum hit from 25 yards out. The second chance came by way of another big defensive play by the East as Parker got to Tolzien for another sack and forced fumble.

The field goal put the East up 19-0.

The West would finally get on the scoreboard with Enderle taking over under center. Enderle hooked up with Portland State tight end Julius Thomas for a five-yard touchdown. They then connected on the ensuing two-point play to cut the deficit to 19-8 with 2:44 to go in the half.

– 4th Quarter – With less than four minutes remaining Walker forced a fumble at the goal line, which was recovered by North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin for the final score of the game. Byrum had his extra-point attempt blocked by Idaho’s Shiloh Keo.

Byrum finished the day just 1-of-3 on field goals and 2-of-3 on point-after tries.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Photos by Scott McCall –