Herd’s rally falls short against UCF

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Almost there... Marshall’s DeAndre Kane (24) drives to the basket earlier this year against UCF. The Herd fell to the Knights 67-60 in Orlando on Wednesday. AP file photo

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February 9, 2012

Anonymous Associated Press Thu Feb 09, 2012, 04:58 AM EST

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Keith Clanton scored 20 points and Isaiah Sykes added 15 points and 10 rebounds as Central Florida hung on for a 67-60 win over Marshall on Wednesday night.

The Knights (18-6, 7-3 Conference USA) needed a 3-pointer from Marcus Jordan with 14.3 seconds to play to stop a Thundering Herd rally that had cut a 14-point deficit to just two in the final minute.

“I’ve been there a couple of times with a chance to make clutch plays at the end of games and this time it went in,” said Jordan, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

Marshall (14-10, 5-5) was led by Damier Pitts with 18 points and seven assists. Shaquille Johnson added 10 for the Thundering Herd, who lost for the sixth time in their last seven games.

“Our kids battle hard, but we don’t make enough winning plays when the time comes,” said Marshall coach Tom Herrion. “We fought back, but lost the game on a couple of missed box-outs on free throws. We just didn’t get the job done.”

Clanton was the driving force for Central Florida in both halves. He scored the Knights’ first 11 points of the game and started the second half with a 3-pointer. His follow shot completed a 13-2 run early in the second half that allowed Central Florida to pull out to a 44-34 lead with 11:54 left.

The Knights led 58-44 with under 3 minutes left when Pitts started and finished a 16-4 run with 3-pointers. His last shot made it 62-60 with 49.7 seconds remaining. However, the Thundering Herd couldn’t stop Jordan, who just beat the shot clock with a fall-away jumper from deep in the corner.

“The one word on the blackboard in our locker room was finish, and we did that tonight,” Central Florida coach Donnie Jones said. “There are a lot of things we can learn from this game, especially the last 2 minutes, but we made the hustle plays and finished when it mattered.”

DeAndre Kane, Marshall’s top scorer, arrived just before game time, after spending time with his family in Pittsburgh following his father’s death Tuesday. Kane, who averages 16.2 points, scored only nine on 4-of-12 shooting. He missed all three of his free-throw attempts.

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Herd’s rally falls short against UCF

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