Kevin Sims scored 18 points against UCF.

Feb. 27, 2008

ORLANDO (AP) - Jermaine Taylor came off the bench to score 15 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, guiding UCF to an 80-63 victory over Tulane on Wednesday.

UCF (15-12, 8-5 Conference USA) shot 24-of-28 from the free-throw line en route to sending Tulane (15-12, 5-8) to its sixth-straight loss.

Holding a slim 20-17 lead midway through the first half, UCF went on a nine-point run, capped off by a Dave Noel 3-pointer with 6:55 remaining, to jump out to a 29-17 cushion. The Knights eventually built their lead to 18 points before reaching halftime ahead, 44-33.

UCF never let Tulane trim its deficit to less than nine points in the final frame as the Knights held on for the 17-point win.

Mike Battle collected a career-high 15 points for UCF. Stanley Billings (12 points), Dave Noel (11 points) and Mike O'Donnell (10 points) also had double-digit scoring efforts.

Kevin Sims paced the Green Wave with 18 points, while David Gomez had 12 points and Robinson Louisme added 11 points.