During a short recruiting cycle in his first season, following three as the lead man at Marshall, six signees were added to an already youthful roster which finished 15-17 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA this past year.

Knowing that the essential pieces from that squad were returning for the 2010-11 season, the plan going in for Jones and his assistants was quite simple.

Donnie Jones

“Not many times do you walk into a program where everybody’s back,” said Jones. “That’s an unusual situation. Being able to add some depth is really what our focus was.”

And that’s what they did by signing a young point guard for the future, some true size in the middle, and shooters to help shore up the wing.

Joining a core made up of senior forward A.J. Tyler, guards A.J. Rompza (junior) and Marcus Jordan (sophomore), and forward Keith Clanton (sophomore) are three Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and two prep players.

Just two of those transfers must sit out this season as per NCAA rules.

“Sometimes when you need instant help and you have a short period of time, it’s better to get veterans,” said Jones. “It gives you a little time to focus on the underclassmen, and we bring in instant help that can come in and compete (right) now.”

Winning and competing is precisely what fans will expect later this year as they tip-toe into a season for the first time in 17 years without beloved coach Kirk Speraw, who was not retained after one of several subpar campaigns.

How long it takes for fans to warm up to the new regime is anybody’s guess.

Jones doesn’t know if there’s any certain remedy for winning fans over, other than to “come in and try to build on the great things that Kirk’s done here.”

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done for this program, it’s been incredible,” he said. “We’ll just try to build on what he’s done and earn our respect with how we play and what we do on a day-to-day basis.

“Hopefully people will come out and support this program based on UCF and not necessarily who the coach is.”

More wins than losses are likely to help heal old wounds. And if that’s the case, based on the track record of this guy it shouldn’t take long to turn the Knights into conference contenders.

Jones led the Thundering Herd to an 11-5 C-USA mark and 24-10 overall record last season with one of the top offenses in the country, leading the conference in scoring at 79.9 points per game. Before arriving in West Virginia, Jones spent 11 years as an assistant at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan, helping the program win back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007.

Joining Jones at UCF are assistant coaches Shawn Finney, Brett Nelson, Darren Tillis, and director of basketball operations Tim Thomas. All four worked with Jones at Marshall, where Hassan Whiteside led the nation in blocks with 182, good for the fourth-most in NCAA single-season history.

––– DONNIE JONES ON HIS NEW RECRUITS AT UCF –––

– Jarvis Davis (FR; 6-1, 175) – out of Hargrove Military Academy in Virginia; River View High School in Columbia, S.C.

Jones calls Davis a tough, competitive kid and “a pass-first point guard who makes others better around him.”

“He’ a good defender and I think his ability to score will get better with time,” said Jones.

Davis, who was the first signing at UCF for Jones, spent last year at Hargrove Military and has been on campus since May.

– Isaiah Sykes (FR; 6-5, 200) – out of Denby High School in Detroit, Mich.

Sykes is a tough and athletic left-handed shooter who Jones says is versatile enough to play at a number of different positions, “which I like in our system,” Jones said.

The coach says Sykes is skilled enough to contribute immediately for the Knights. He scored 17 points in the Michigan High School All-Star Game and was rated No. 39 at small forward by Scout.

– Dwight McCombs (JR; 6-8, 240) – out of Moraine Valley Community College; Miami (Ohio); Whitney Young High School in Chicago Ill.

Jones said McCombs, the second of his recruits, has been dropping weight and getting into better shape ever since arriving on campus in May. Coaches are impressed with the transfer’s rebounding, scoring, and the way he runs the floor.

“He fits with what we want to do,” said Jones.

McCombs averaged 22.5 points (No. 12 in nation), 13.3 rebounds (No. 3) and led the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II in blocks at five per game last season. He was also a high school teammate of A.J. Rompza.

– Tom Herzog (SR; 7-0, 250) – out of Michigan State; Powers High School in Flint, Mich.

A bit player at Michigan State, Herzog has been given one last chance to live up to the billing. After being hailed as a top prep-player out of high school (rated the No. 7 center in the nation by Rivals) he contributed lightly for two NCAA Final Four teams under Tom Izzo.

With his arrival to Orlando this past weekend, the Knights have a true center entering the year. Herzog is not required to sit out this season after transferring since he has already earned his bachelor’s degree at MSU and redshirted during the 2006-07 season.

“I think the timing is right (and) we needed a center,” said Jones. “He has the ability to come in and help us and impact us immediately. He’s got an edge about himself to get out and play and I liked that when I was recruiting him.”

As a freshman in 2003-04, he blocked a Michigan high school single-season state record 182 shots and later finished second in the Michigan Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award voting as a senior.

– Josh Crittle (JR; 6-8, 250) – out of Oregon; Hales Franciscan High School in Bellwood, Ill.

Jones says the addition of Crittle gives the Knights some size that’s hard to come by.

Crittle will have a chance to get acclimated to a new system as a redshirt over the next year after coming in as a reserve out of Oregon.

“He’s a guy who can come in and physically compete each and every day,” said Jones. “He’s got a whole year to get himself ready and get better.”

As a senior in high school he was rated the No. 29 center in the nation by ESPN and The No. 30 post player in the country by Scout.

– Jeff Jordan (SR; 6-1, 185) – out of Illinois; Loyola Academy in Chicago, Ill.

The eldest son of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan joins brother Marcus at UCF after transferring in from Illinois, where he spent the past three seasons as a reserve. He becomes the second player from the 2010-11 recruiting class to sit out following a transfer.

“Anytime you’ve got family members or guys who played at the same high school together, which we have on this team, that brings back a little pride,” said Jones.

“He understands the mentality of work and team and he played for a great coach and played at a great program at Illinois. To bring that kind of leadership and experience to the program right now gives us three really good points guards here from a depth standpoint.”

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

Following three seasons of mediocrity on the basketball court, the University of Central Florida has ended its 17-year relationship with beloved head coach Kirk Speraw.

Kirk Speraw (Photo by Scott McCall)

Since being named Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2006-07 after guiding the Knights to a 22-9 mark overall and 11-5 record in league play, UCF went on to finish 16-15, 17-14, and most recently 15-17, this past season. The Knights went 14-15 in 2005-06.

UCF Director of Athletics Keith Tribble said he didn’t feel the program was moving in the right direction and decided the time had come to make a change.

“This was not an easy decision, but one we felt will serve in the best interest of our program’s direction,” he said.

That direction, according to Tribble, includes both graduating student-athletes and competing for championships in conference play and beyond.

Since joining C-USA in 2005-06, Speraw’s teams have gone just 40-38 in league play. His overall record at UCF is capped at 279-233.

Speraw, the fifth coach in program history, led the Knights to the NCAA Tournament four times (1994, 1996, 2004, 2005) after winning Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament titles.

He followed in the footsteps of Torchy Clark (274-89 in 14 seasons), Chuck Machock (24-81 in two seasons), Phil Carter (37-73 in four seasons) and Joe Dean (37-73 in four seasons) as head coach in 1993.

– The following are posts from fans via social-networking site Facebook on Monday –

“I have had the day to reflect, and what a sad time for Black and Gold basketball fans… What a man of principle. I will always remember that he did it the right way. No one was more of a beacon for this university than him, which leaves us to wonder who will shine for us now.”

“Is and always will be a Kirk’s Jerk.”

“Our loss will be someone else’s gain.”

“Is surprised, but isn’t, at Kirk Speraw’s firing.”

“Sad day in Black and Gold land.”

“I am REALLY PISSED OFF that Kirk Speraw got fired today.”

“Sees that UCF has finally axed Kirk Speraw, a nice guy who just didn’t bring enough wins.”

“UCF needs to stop crying about Kirk getting fired.When was the last time UCF made the NCAA Tournament?”

“UCF fires men’s basketball coach Kirk Speraw… So sad, like UCF ever cared about basketball in the first place.”

“We have a team full of underclassmen, so of course the team is going to be up and down like it was this year. Kirk has always done more with less…”

“This is just sad. I felt like this was coming but I figured they would give him one more year with all the underclassmen on the roster.”

“We all loved Kirk as a guy but his results were lackluster and getting worse.”

“This is an actual nightmare. Kirk is an amazing guy and coach. UCF just screwed up.”

“I know little about the UCF hoops team, but people like me seeing this news are going to immediately wonder what Jordan’s kid thinks about this.”

“Coach Speraw was a student and fan favorite for many years, and he will be missed. But, this was a long time coming… Each year we hovered around the .500 mark, and with our start to the season this year, we should have never finished sub-.500… his career record at UCF was right around the .500 mark. If we want to be known for mediocrity, then we should have kept him. But it’s clear we want to establish ourselves as a premier team in the conference, and to compete for chances to be in the NCAA Tournament. It is sad, but the time has come where we needed to move on.”

Despite the ups and downs for the two programs over the course of 2009-10, there seems to be enough in place for a strong turnaround next season.

– Men’s Hoops –

On Thursday, the men’s team fell 76-54 to No. 21 UTEP as the Knights played most of the way without Marcus Jordan and P.J. Gaynor as Jordan rolled an ankle and Gaynor took a knee to the ribs.

Marcus Jordan (left) and Keith Clanton (Photo by Chris Schubert)

But by the time those injuries took place, though, the Miners already had complete control of the game as they eventually took a 28-point lead into the halftime break.

The Knights finished the season with a 15-17 overall mark and showed signs of good days to come with one of the youngest squads in the nation.

Jordan and Keith Clanton ended the year having been named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. Clanton blocked 45 shots and averaged 9.7 points on 48-percent shooting from the field along with 6.8 rebounds per game. Jordan averaged eight points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and tallied 37 steals on the year.

Sophomore A.J. Rompza, who was named to the C-USA Freshman Team a year ago, finished the season with the fourth most steals in a single season at UCF with 81, and now ranks 10th all-time in that category with 127 swipes. Rompza’s 144 assists are the sixth most in a season for the program. He also averaged 8.6 points per game.

Sophomore Isaac Sosa now ranks No. 10 in school history with 130 career 3-pointers made. Sosa and A.J. Tyler led the knights in scoring this season with 10.3 points per game. Tyler also grabbed five rebounds per game.

UCF opened the C-USA tourney at Tulsa as the No. 9 seed and outshot No. 8 SMU, 69-53, in the opening round.

– Women’s Hoops –

On Tuesday, the eighth-seeded Lady Knights rallied from an 11-point deficit but couldn’t hold on to a three-point lead with a minute to go as they were turned away by top-seeded Tulane, 63-62.

Emma Cannon (left) and Chelsie Wiley (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

The loss ended UCF’s season with an 11-16 overall record, just one year removed from winning the conference title and playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Juniors Chelsie Wiley and Emma Cannon surpassed career milestones this season as they both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. Cannon surpassed the mark in a loss against Notre Dame and has now compiled 1,154 points (5th all-time) and 903 rebounds (2nd all-time) in her career. Wiley became the program’s 13th 1,000-point scorer in February and now ranks No. 8 all-time on that list with 1,069 points.

Wiley (11.5 points per game), Marshay White (11.3) and Cannon (11) led the team in scoring this season. Cannon, a C-USA All-Conference Third Team selection, also averaged 10 rebounds per game and finished with 18 blocked shots.

Aisha Patrick grabbed 63 steals and averaged 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists on the year. D’Nay Daniels averaged 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Angelica Mealing averaged 3.7 assists per game.

The Knights opened tournament play by defeating ninth-seeded Marshall in overtime, 59-57.

Kirk Speraw (Photo by Scott McCall)

Against East Carolina (7-15 overall, 1-7 Conference USA), junior Taylor Young led the way with a 16-point effort and six assists. Sophomore Isaac Sosa had his best outing in a while by draining four three-pointers – including the 100th of his career – as he finished with 14 points.

A.J. Tyler scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four steals while Marcus Jordan scored nine points and also finished with four steals.

The win over the Pirates was just the fifth in the past 15 games for UCF, who improved at the free throw line (15-of-18) and made 8-of-18 shots from long-range.

“We gave a good effort. We finally started to make a few shots,” said Speraw. “Hopefully that will get some confidence to our guys.

“It has been a tough stretch of games. Now we can give them a couple of days [off]. We can work on some things and work on our timing and execution during the course of these next few practices.”

In his 17th season, Speraw moved past Torchy Clark (1969-83) last week as the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Kirk Speraw with Isaac Sosa (Photo by Scott McCall)

“Kirk really does a great job with this program,” UCF Hall of Famer Bo Clark, son of Torchy, said earlier this season after banners where hung at UCF Arena in honor of the Clarks.

On Wednesday, UCF (11-11, 3-5 C-USA) is on the road at Memphis (16-7, 6-2) before hosting Tulane (7-15, 2-7) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Houston (12-11, 4-5) on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

The Knights are currently sitting at No. 9 in the 12-team C-USA standings.

With a month left in the regular season, look for A.J. Rompza to break into UCF’s top-10 in single-season steals and steals in a career. He is currently averaging 2.8 steals per game, good for seventh-best in the nation.

Freshman Keith Clanton is just three blocked shots from entering the Knights’ single-season list.

Clanton has already climbed to No. 3 on the UCF freshman single-season Division I rebounds list with 141 boards, behind the 268 from Ken Leeks (1990-91) and 163 from Darryl Davis (1991-92).

– More Kirk Speraw at UCF –

Behind the numbers at StatSheet

Kevin Stanley at Bleacher Report

Carl Kotala at Florida Today

David Hall at Sun Journal

Karen V. Contino at Central Florida Lifestyle

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.”

Culpepper scored a career high 39 points, 25 coming in the second half as he seemingly could not miss while UCF was unable to make a shot. The Knights went 6-for-32 from the field in the second half and finished the game shooting 32-percent as Speraw was denied win No. 275, which would put him ahead of the late Torchy Clark for most in program history.

“I thought we had a really immature response to what happened in the second half,” said Speraw, whose Knights were outscored 52-18 in the second half to drop to 10-9 on the season and 2-3 in C-USA.

“We had five one-on-one games out there rather than one five-on-five game,” he said. “We didn’t execute well, which translated to us not scoring and them getting off to a great start. And then our lack of scoring affected our energy level on defense. And then it really popped.”

For Culpepper, the nine three’s he drained ties him with Robert Vaden of UAB and Charlotte’s Demon Brown and Brendan Plavich atop the C-USA single game list as he helped the Miners build on the momentum they brought into the game after winning at Memphis on Wednesday night. That win ended the 64-game conference win streak for the Tigers.

“I’ve never had a game like that since I’ve been at UTEP,” Culpepper said. “In the first half I came out and hit a couple of three’s, and something told me that I should keep shooting because it was going to be a good night.”

With the win UTEP improved to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in C-USA while the Knights must now regroup before heading to Dallas to take on SMU on Wednesday, where Speraw will coach his 500th game at UCF and take another shot at winning No. 275.

Whiteside had a triple-double, scoring 14 points with 14 rebounds and 10 blocks as Marshall outscored UCF, 46-31, in second half to improve to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Conference USA while UCF dropped to 9-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

“I think we lost our intensity that we had in the first half. We could of started to build on that lead but it was little stuff that hurt us,” sophomore guard A.J. Rompza said. “In the second half they were getting every loose ball, they went to the glass harder then us.”

The Knights played a great first half, shooting 58-percent from the field as they led by as many as 12 at one point. But following the halftime performance by the Blue Man Group, who performed with the UCF Band, the Knights shot just 37-percent in the second half while Marshall shot 52-percent for the game. The Herd went on a 20-6 run early in the second half to come back from their deficit and eventually take a lead they would not relinquish.

Marshall dominated the free throw line going 21-for-30, including 15-for-21 in the second half, while UCF only mustered seven trips the to the line the entire night.

“When they are shooting 30 and you are shooting seven, that is tough to overcome,” said UCF Coach Kirk Speraw.

The Knights were led by freshman Marcus Jordan who scored 19 points to lead the way in just his second career start, while Rompza chipped in with 12 points, six assists and three steals in defeat.

Speraw needs just one win to tie the late Torchy Clark for the most wins in school history with 274 all-time. But Speraw and the Knights will now have to regroup and play a complete and consistent 40 minutes as they head into a tough road trip against one of the preseason conference favorites in Tulsa on Saturday, who is 11-0 at home this season. UCF then travels to Houston on Jan. 20.

“I told our guys that every conference game is going to be this way,” Speraw said. “We need to understand that and be ready for that. We’ve got to be more consistent from beginning to end with our execution and effort.”

The 9,460 fans in attendance surpassed the 8,727 that were made it out on opening night against Massachusetts in November. The all-time record stands at 9,825 fans from a season ago when the Knights hosted Memphis.

The Knights (7-4 overall) are perfect in five games at home this season and open up against Liberty (6-6) at 7 p.m., following the 4:30 p.m. matchup between Buffalo (7-3) and Jacksonville (1-7). The semifinal game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday with the championship set for 7 p.m.

Marcus Jordan

UCF is coming off of two close losses to USF, 69-65, and No. 14 Connecticut, 60-51, in which the individual efforts of freshman Marcus Jordan earned him a share of the Conference USA Rookie of the Week award along with Jeremy Williams of UTEP.

Jordan led the team in scoring against UConn with 13 points over 28 minutes and added four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in a losing effort. He dropped 11 points against USF as he made two from long distance, dished out three assists, grabbed two rebounds and snagged two steals against the Bulls.

Through 11 games Jordan is averaging 5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19 minutes per game off the bench.

Leading the way for the Knights so far this season have been the likes of Isaac Sosa and A.J. Tyler in scoring, A.J. Rompza in assists and steals, Dave Diakite in rebounding, and Keith Clanton in rebounding and blocked shots.

The Knights have scored wins against Massachusetts, Howard, Auburn, Drake, Albany, Newberry and Bethune-Cookman while suffering losses to Niagara and Notre Dame as well as USF and UConn.

After starting the New Year with a road game at Mississippi on Jan. 5 the C-USA schedule begins for UCF with Rice (5-6) paying a visit Jan. 9 and Marshall (10-2) coming to town Jan. 13.

During his regular season return to Orlando last week, as the Rockets visited the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena, he spoke about the adjustments a standout college basketball player must make and the learning experiences that come with competing at the next level.

Among those in the stands to welcome Taylor back to town was UCF Coach Kirk Speraw, who Taylor credits for getting him ready to make such a jump to the National Basketball Association.

Despite seeing limited action thus far (in just 10 of 30 games) the former Knight continues to study the game and has turned to teammates in order to improve as a rookie.

In less than five minutes of work per outing, Taylor has sank 32-percent of his shots on 6-of-19 attempts for 17 points, pulled down four rebounds, and dished out two assists at guard for the Rockets.

– Read more about Taylor and listen to interviews with Eric Lopez at UCFSports.com

Bethune-Cookman forced the Knights into 18 turnovers and looked a bit more convincing in the post until UCF tightened up and put the game away down the stretch to come out on top, 63-50.

“We were starting to feel like the game might slip and we were in danger of losing,” said junior forward A.J. Tyler. “That’s when we picked it up.”

Keith Clanton (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

Freshman forward Keith Clanton extended the lead for UCF (7-2) to 51-47 when he received a pass down low, took a quick bounce to shake off a defender, and laid in a shot off the glass with 3:08 to play. He would then drive to the bucket for another score before blocking a shot and stealing a pass in the paint over the final two minutes for the Knights.

“He came up big for us at the end with a couple blocks there when we needed to have some critical stops,” said UCF Coach Kirk Speraw of the freshman.

It was Clanton’s first career start, and it started out as a relatively quiet one in part because the Knights as a whole appeared to be playing down to their competition. It wasn’t until late in the game that Clanton showed he was comfortable attacking both on the dribble and defense end.

In the first half Clanton made a free throw and two shots from the field for five points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two turnovers. He would finish the night 4-for-4 for nine points, five rebound and four blocked shots in all.

“He has a good sense and a good feel for the game,” Speraw said.

Getting UCF off and running in the first half was Tyler, a transfer from Clemson who Speraw says has added some stability in the post and has become much more consistent of late. He led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and had six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of work.

Tyler started the game with a quick pass to Isaac Sosa that led to a score then had two quick baskets of his own, one of which while floating along the baseline off an assist from Clanton near the corner of the court.

But as a team, UCF went long stretches without scoring from the field while Bethune-Cookman seemingly did so at will. That was until the final five minutes of the game when the Knights tightened up defensively to allow just three points the rest of the way.

“We need to get to a point where as a team we do that from the very first minute – all 40 minutes,” said Tyler of the team’s defensive effort. “That’s where we need to get to.”

There’s not a whole lot of time to make that happen though, as the Knights go on the road to take on South Florida (7-1) on Wednesday and No. 14 Connecticut (6-2) on Sunday, Dec. 20. They will then host the UCF Holiday Classic with Liberty (5-6), Buffalo (5-3) and Jacksonville (0-5) coming to town Dec. 29-30.

The Knights start the New Year on the road at No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) on Jan. 5 before the Conference USA slate gets underway against Rice at UCF Arena on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m.

With the win over Bethune-Cookman, UCF stays unbeaten at home (5-0) and puts Speraw just four wins away from become the winningest head coach in program history.

“We stepped up and made it difficult on them to score coming down the stretch and that’s what you need,” said Speraw. “You need to dig down a little deeper no matter what had happened earlier in the game and you’ve got to fight, scratch and claw, and our guys were able to do that.”

Also making contributions for the Knights in the win were A.J. Rompza with 12 points, five steals and three assists; P.J. Gaynor with 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks; and Sosa with 13 points off three three-pointers and 4-for-9 shooting.