Knights up to 8-0

Many fans outside the UCF sphere had heard of Tom Herzog before Saturday night’s game against Bethune Cookman. Surely all had heard of him afterward. The senior center had seen only a scant few minutes in the Knights first seven games of the season. In game 8 he came into the second half and put on a clinic at the post, easily shattering his game highs with 14 points and eight blocks in the Knights’ 76-59 win over BCU.

The Knights had hoped for a strong presence at center last season, frequently using forward Keith Clanton for that role, where he struggled. This season has seen big changes at the Knights’ biggest position, with Clanton and now Herzog filling a key role on defense, and bringing strong post presence to the team.

Clanton helped lead the Knights to their eighth straight win of the season, dropping 16 points in the basket and grabbing eight rebounds off of it. Even more remarkable was his shooting percentage in those wild 17 minutes of bench relief, when he hammered home every one of the nine shots he took.

And in the win, the Knights only added to the credibility of Coach Donnie Jones’ inaugural year with UCF. During the team’s opening run, the Knights have never lost under their new coach.

Key performances like those from A.J. Rompza early in the season and Herzog’s Saturday night have given the Knights the boost they need to pull away from competitors. Midway through their contest against BCU, the Knights were barely holding onto the lead. That changed thanks to Herzog’s presence in the second half, when he capitalized on a swing in momentum to give his team six points during a run that blew the scoring gap open.

That gap would remain wide for the rest of the game, as Herzog continued to rain in points and the rest of the team held steady on defense to keep BCU at bay.

Keeping pace with the game leaders, Marcus Jordan kept the ball moving with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Another relative unknown, starting center Dwight McCombs picked up eight points on the night and added three rebounds. An always energetic Rompza added six points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Overall, the Knights would shoot 56.8 percent, another big game compared to last season’s average.

The Knights return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns (1-7) have lost 6 games in a row.