UCF Drops Contest to Marshall, 67-62

Despite 28 points from senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.), the UCF men’s basketball team was unable to top Marshall Saturday, falling 67-62 at the Cam Henderson Center. The Knights had the chance to tie the Conference USA game at 65 with five seconds remaining, but Taylor’s 3-pointer went wide.

Taylor scored 18 points after intermission for the Knights, who fell to 16-12 overall and 6-8 in league play.

After the Thundering Herd (14-15, 6-8) led by as many as six points in the second half, UCF grabbed a 60-59 edge with 2:15 to play when freshman guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto) nailed a triple. The hosts got a basket from Markel Humphrey on the ensuing possession and then increased the lead to 63-60 after Tirell Baines recorded an offensive rebound and scored inside with 17 seconds left.

“It was a very hard fought hard game. We battled, we scratched, we clawed,” UCF head coach Kirk Speraw said. “We were battling through adversity. But we couldn’t come up with the stop or bucket we needed to get over the hump.”

Taylor got rolling at the start of the second half and hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 14-3 UCF run. Sophomore forward A.J. Tyler (Palm Harbor, Fla.) capped the spurt with a layup at the 12:15 mark that handed the Knights a 41-34 edge.

Humphrey got Marshall back into the game, scoring 15 of his 18 points after intermission.

Thanks to a 3-point play from Damier Pitts towards the end of the first half, the score was tied at 25 at halftime.

Taylor shot 10-of-24 from the field and went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in 37 minutes. Senior center Kenrick Zondervan (Hoofddorp, Holland) totaled 10 points and seven boards for the Knights, who shot 44.2 percent overall and 28.6 percent from deep.

Marshall finished with a 37-32 edge on the glass. Pitts led the hosts with 21 points. Both Humphrey, who finished with 12 rebounds, and Baines (16 points, 11 boards), recorded double-doubles.

UCF will return to action Wednesday at Tulsa. The Knights will conclude the regular season a week from today, hosting East Carolina at the UCF Arena.