Knights dominate the court

By Isaac Babcock
| 8:42 a.m. December 8, 2010

Photo by: Isaac Babcock - Forward Keith Clanton prepares to shoot against the No. 16 ranked University of Florida Gators. The Knights defeated the Gators 57-54.

Winter Park - Maitland Observer
Sports

Under the bright lights of the Amway Arena Wednesday night, the UCF men’s basketball team pulled off the improbable: beating a national powerhouse team. And Coach Donnie Jones got the chance to prove something: That he could beat his former team, itself a two-time former national champion.

Jones had been assistant coach under longtime coach Billy Donovan during the University of Florida Gators’ two-year reign at the top in 2006 and 2007. He left in 2007, after 11 years working with Donovan.

On Dec. 1, he brought a shockingly strong UCF team, energized with full court press defense, persistent offense and a will to win that outlasted the Gators in the final crucial minutes of the game.

In all, the Knights (7-0) would continue to pursue the Gators (5-2) until the pressure finally broke the No. 16 Gators in front of a crowd of 13,909 fans, many of them in orange and blue. But the Knights gave their own fans something to cheer for at the end: the biggest win in UCF basketball history.

It was only the second time the Knights had beaten a ranked team, and the first time that they’d beaten powerhouse Florida. Now the Knights are getting some looks in the rankings themselves, garnering dozens of votes as they enter the final week of a long season-opening homestand.

The Knights propelled themselves toward being a ranked team with another big win Saturday night, putting a 74-49 exclamation point on the week in a win over Southeastern Louisiana. That win ratcheted the Knights’ win streak up to 7, thanks to an all-around effort by four Knights who went into double digits on the scoreboard, and one forward who had a breakout game.

Keith Clanton scored 16 points and picked up a career-high 15 rebounds in the Knights’ trouncing of Southeastern Louisiana, with Isaac Sosa leading the team with 17 points, and A.J. Rompza dropping 11 points in the basket while adding 8 assists and 4 steals.

Saturday night, the Knights return to action, taking on Bethune Cookman at home at 5 p.m. The Wildcats are 4-4, coming off a 62-55 win over rival Florida A&M.