Speraw is UCF’s new all-time wins leader

UCF's win over East Carolina Tuesday night was big in more ways than one
For starters, it broke UCF's three-game losing streak, and also gave the team just its second win in its past seven games, but more importantly, it got head coach Kirk Speraw a milestone victory that had eluded him for almost two weeks.

Speraw picked up his 275th career win to become UCF's all-time wins leader, passing Torchy Clark, with his team's 67-56 victory over the Pirates (7-15, 1-7 in C-USA) on the road.

"We gave a good effort," Speraw said in a press release. "We finally started to make a few shots. Hopefully that will get some confidence to our guys. It has been a tough stretch of games.
"Now we can give them a couple of days [off]. We can work on some things and work on our timing and execution during the course of these next few practices."

The Knights (11-11, 3-5) took a 24-23 lead into the half after junior forward A.J. Tyler scored just before the buzzer sounded. It was a basket that would prove to be a very important play in the game.

"It was a very big bucket," Speraw said in a press release. "We missed the jumper, but he fought and battled for that rebound and kind of willed it into the hole. I thought that was crucial to be able to do that."

Tyler's basket helped the Knights gain some momentum heading into the second half. The Knights went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a 37-28 lead with 14:34 left in the game. The Knights went on to push their lead into double-digits following two made free throws by freshman forward Keith Clanton, and once they got that lead, they never relinquished it. The Knights led by as much as 16 points with under two minutes to play before holding on for the 67-56 win.

UCF shot 52.2 percent from the field in the second and was 42.3 percent for the game. Junior Taylor Young led UCF in scoring with a career-high 16 points, while chipping in six assists. Young made 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and was 4-of-6 from the field. Tyler added 10 points and nine rebounds and Isaac Sosa put up 14.

ECU guard Jamar Abhrams' career-high of 28 points led the Pirates, but wasn't enough in a losing effort as his team shot just 38.9 percent.

The Knights aren't the only ones who have struggled of late. ECU's loss to UCF gave the Pirates their seventh loss in their past eight games.