Knights fans lift captain A.J. Rompza as they mob the court after Knights beat Memphis 68-67 on Jan. 18.
Thousands of fans mobbed the court, lifted A.J. Rompza into the air, and roared the name UCF over and over again Jan. 18, victorious over Memphis for the first time in school history.
"It was unreal," forward Keith Clanton said. "Everybody was out there having fun."
Seconds earlier the Knights' scrappy team captain had stolen a ball bound for a final shot attempt by Memphis as the score stood 68-67 with the Knights narrowly ahead. And as he turned with the clock ticking to zero and fired a final shot, the stands were already exploding with cheers.
But there was plenty of heroics to go around in the final seconds of the Knights' shocking upset of the Tigers. Down 63-64, junior Marcus Jordan raced into the paint to fire a Jordanian acrobatic layup that fell to put the Knights back on top. Down again after a three pointer by the Tigers, Keith Clanton leapt up for a layup while being fouled mercilessly by the Tigers to tie the game. Clanton had only hit half his free throws all night, but on the ensuing foul shot he sank what would be the winning basket with just four seconds left.
And as the clock ran out and Knights fans leapt onto the court to dance with their team, the Knights celebrated a victory that had been long in coming. In nearly a dozen meetings on the court, the Knights had never beaten the Tigers.
"We knew what it meant to the school," Jordan said.
Clanton and Jordan would lead the Knights in scoring. Clanton had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 2 steals on the night. Jordan added 20 points and 2 assists.
The Knights (14-4, 4-1) needed everything they had to stave off a late comeback by Memphis (12-6, 3-1), which was down by as much as 13 points as the Knights pulled away early in the second half. But after a string of shots by the Tigers, they came within 2 points with 11 minutes left. After that, it was a struggle for the Knights to stay ahead.
But in the end the Knights gritted out one of the most memorable wins in team history.
"We've beaten some good teams," Jordan said. "We're just going to try and continue to win every game we play."