A.J. Rompza and Issac Sosa were determined to make sure Senior Night wouldn’t end on a sour note for three graduating UCF basketball players. The backcourt duo combined for 27 points, including a pair of late three-pointers to ensure teammates A.J Tyler, Taylor Young and Tom Herzog would end their UCF careers in the right fashion.
“They’re my roommates, so I would have heard it for another four months while we still lived together (if we didn’t win),” Rompza said jokingly. “You can’t even put into words what those guys have done for the program, what they have done for the team. You have to dig down and find something inside of you that’s going to push you through the game and win it for them.”
Rompza and Sosa carried the bulk of the load during a 21-4 run that sparked a furious second half rally and gave the Knights (19-9, 6-9 C-USA) their fifth win in six games. After a sluggish first half, in which the Knights mustered only 16 points, UCF outscored Southern Methodist 35-25 in the second half en route to a 51-48 victory in the home finale at the UCF Arena Wednesday night.
Although Rompza and Sosa highlighted the run, it was Tyler’s go-ahead three pointer with 10 minutes left that gave the Knights their fist lead since the first minute of the game and turned the momentum into UCF’s favor.
Tyler finished with eight points and five rebounds in the final home game of his UCF career.
Sosa scored a team-high 17 points, including four-of-seven from beyond the arc, to anchor the Knights third straight victory.
Despite UCF’s big run, in which Tyler and Sosa hit back-to-back three-pointers, the Mustangs (17-12, 8-7 C-USA) found their way back into the game, answering the Knights with a 7-0 run that put them within three points.
After Marcus Jordan nailed a pair of free throws to give the Knights a five point cushion, SMU scored a quick basket and then got the ball back on a turnover with a chance to tie the game.
Luckily for UCF, Jeremia Samarrippas’ game-tying three-point shot rimmed out at the buzzer and the Knights held on for the win.
The Knights won their third straight game against a top conference opponent, knocking off UTEP, Southern Miss and now SMU in the last three contests, which is a far cry from their eight-game skid that nearly derailed their entire season.
“It says that we never gave up. It shows a lot of character and a lot of heart in our teammates. We could have easily put our heads down and called it a season, but we came to practice and came to fight every single day. You have to give credit to every single person; it’s a team effort,” Rompza said regarding the Knights turnaround.
The Mustangs, who lead the league in scoring defense, looked to be in firm control at halftime, limiting UCF to 26 percent (6-of-23) shooting from the field and 18 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc in the first half.
However, the Knights were a completely different team in the second half. They found their offensive touch and doubled their shooting percentage to 52 percent from the field, including an outstanding 86 percent (6-of-7) from the three-point line.
It was the UCF defense that sparked the offense though. The Knights used an effective full-court press that caught the Mustangs off guard and limited them to 35 percent shooting in the second half after they went 10-of-16 in the first half.
“I just thought in the second half we needed to create some energy, so we pressed a lot more. I thought that slowed them down and forced some turnovers. We got some good stops defensively and got the momentum going our way,” head coach Donnie Jones said.
Papa Dia led all scorers with 18 points, to go along with nine boards for SMU. Guard Mike Walker was the only other Mustang in double figures, contributing 10 points.
Rompza was the only other UCF player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points, four assists and two steals off the bench.
In what’s been a trend for the team lately, the Knights had their seventh straight game decided by six points or fewer, with the last four home games being decided by three points or less. UCF is now 11-6 in games decided by 10 or fewer points.
“We have good depth; we have a lot of bodies we can play. Were executing down the stretch and that’s what you got to do. Everybody knows everyone’s plays at this time; it comes down to guys making plays and getting stops. I think this team’s got heart,” Coach Jones said. “We’ve experienced prosperity and adversity at the highest level and these kids have continued to battle back and put us in contention for postseason play.”
The Knights will conclude their regular season with a date against Coach Jones former team, the Marshall Thundering Herd. UCF will travel to Huntington seeking a 20-win season as Coach Jones faces the team he coached for the last three years before leaving to join the Knights.
“It’s always emotional going back there. I know its going to be a tough game, but we know this game was coming,” Jones said.
UCF will tip-off against Marshall at 7 p.m. Saturday looking to gain additional momentum heading into the Conference-USA tournament.
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