Game Stats PDF | Game Stats HTML | Game Notes | Season Stats

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jermaine Taylor scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and the University of Central Florida beat the University of South Florida 71-63 on Saturday night.

Taylor's 30 overcame a big performance by USF sophomore Dominique Jones who tied his career high with 31. He was 11-17 from the field.

The Knights (4-3) beat the Bulls (3-3) for the first time since 1994, snapping a nine-game losing streak in front of the second-largest crowd in UCF history with 6,695 in attendance. USF leads the all-time series 18-5.

Leading 61-60, the Knights outscored USF 10-3 in the final 4:24.

Tony Davis finished with 17 points, including 16 in the second half, and Kenrick Zondervan had 11 for UCF.

Jones had 20 in the second half.  Jesus Verdejo added 15 points for the Bulls which led by as many as nine points in the first half. The Knights scored the final seven points of the half to trail 28-26 at halftime.

Post Game Notes

? Up Next: The Bulls face Niagara on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. at the Sun Dome in a game televised on Bright House Sports Network.

? Sophomore guard Dominique Jones matched his career high with 31 points at UCF, going 11-17 from the field and 2-5 from 3-point range. His previous 31-point outing was last season vs. Seton Hall (2/26/08).

? It is the fourth time in Jones' career with 30 or more points which is tied for second all-time at USF with Altron Jackson and B.B. Waldon. Only Charley Bradley, with 24, has more games with 30 or more points scored at USF.

? With his 31 points at UCF Jones moved past three players into 48th on the all-time USF scoring list with 642 points. He needs to hit 687 points to move into the top 40 all-time and needs just five more points to tie Bulls assistant coach Tommy Tonelli at 46th all-time at 647 career points.

? Senior guard Jesus Verdejo added 15 points at UCF.

? Senior forward Aris Williams continued his solid play with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.

? USF will add two key members to its roster for the Niagara game. Junior guard Mike Mercer and forward/center Augustus Gilchrist will add some much needed experience, talent and depth to the team. Mercer averaged 12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 51 career games for Georgia, which included 27 starts. Glichrist was one of the top-rated post players in the country coming out of high school for the 2007 class.