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Jordan leads unbeaten UCF past Princeton

Dec 31, 2010 - 2:55 AM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Marcus Jordan scored a game-high 26 points to lead 19th-ranked UCF's second-half charge in a 68-62 victory over Princeton in the UCF Holiday Classic championship game.

Jordan, who has helped lead the Knights (13-0) to their first Top 25 ranking in school history, went 7-for-12 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line.

UCF, which trailed 37-29 at halftime, scored 11 of the second half's first 13 points to take the lead. The Knights were able to control the glass, outrebounding Princeton by a 39-22 margin.

Dan Mavraides scored 20 points to lead the Tigers (10-4), who had an eight- game win streak snapped. Ian Hummer added 19 points, and Douglas Davis had 14 in defeat.

The Knights quickly erased their halftime deficit with an 11-2 run, with all but two UCF points scored by Jordan. His jumper with 14:56 left provided a 40-39 advantage.

The teams exchanged the lead several times over the next few minutes, and Princeton was still in good position after two Kareem Maddox free throws had the Tigers ahead, 57-54, with 4:17 to play.

Jordan, though, responded with a jumper and a pair of free throws for a 58-57 UCF lead with 3:42 left. A.J. Rompza's layup a minute later extended the advantage to three.

The Tigers failed to make a field goal the rest of the way, though they took only two shots in the final two minutes -- one of them came when the game had already been decided with one second remaining. The Knights, meanwhile, went 6-of-8 from the line to help fend off any comeback hopes Princeton had.

Princeton jumped out to an 8-0 edge and led the entire first half. UCF trimmed its deficit to 18-16 following a Keith Clanton jumper, but Davis gave the Tigers a 25-19 advantage on his fastbreak layup with 5:24 left.

The largest lead by either side came when Mavraides' two free throws gave Princeton a 37-27 lead with 1:11 left, though Tom Herzog's layup got UCF to within eight at halftime.

Game Notes

UCF is 9-0 at home...The Knights' bench scored 28 points, compared to only five for Princeton...The Tigers fell to 5-3 on the road this season...This was the first meeting between the schools in men's basketball.