The UCF Knights (6-0; 0-0 C-USA) knocked off national powerhouse the Florida Gators (5-2; 0-0 SEC) 57-54 last night in the Florida Citrus Sports Florida Shootout at the Amway Arena. It was the biggest win in UCF history and the Knights’ first victory over a Top 20 opponent. UCF’s sole previous win over a ranked team was an upset of No. 25 College of Charleston in 2002. When first-year UCF coach Donnie Jones was asked to put the win in perspective, he responded, Well I really cant. Im just kind at a loss for words right now. Its kind of surreal that this happened. Im really proud of our team. We won with our defense. We beat a very good basketball team out there tonight.
The Gators came into the game as heavy favorites and were nationally-ranked at #16; their only loss was against #2 Ohio State. But the relentless Knights proved to be too much for the Gators to handle. The Gators pulled within one point with 1:03 left in the game, with the Knights clinging to a 53-52 advantage. UCF freshman guard Isaiah Sykes turned the ball over on an inbound pass, but Florida sophomore guard Kenny Boynton missed a jumper. UCF sophomore Keith Clanton rebounded the ball and kicked it out sophomore Marcus Jordan, who was fouled.
Jordan hit both freethrows, pushing UCF ahead 55-52 with 24 seconds left. Florida junior guard Erving Walker missed a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left, senior forward Vernon Macklin rebounded the ball and Boynton missed another 3-point attempt with 12 seconds left. Clanton was fouled and knocked down two freethrows, pushing UCF ahead 57-52 with nine seconds left. Walker hit a layup with four seconds remaining to cut the score to 57-54, but the Gators never got another look at the basket.
Story and Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.
A study appearing today in the New England Journal of Medicine highlights research findings that the antiretroviral drug Truvada is highly effective at preventing HIV infection in men who have sex with men (MSM). Researchers studied the effect of Truvada in a sample of 2,500 MSM in San Francisco, CA and Lima, Peru. While infection rates declined an average of 44%; when participants took the drug precisely as prescribed, its efficacy rose to up to 90%! Adverse effects are low and included nausea, increased creatinine, and weight loss. The finding holds promise that perhaps pre-exposure prophylactic treatment could be the key to greatly reducing infection rates in the population at most risk. Of great concern, however is the cost. In the US, Truvada costs between $12,000-$14,000 annually. In addition, Gilead, the maker of the drug needs to pursue FDA approval for the pre-exposure indication, which could take months. 
Still not sure who to vote for on election day? Then use the Equality Florida Voter’s Guide to help cast your vote. One word of caution: Equality Florida has endorsed Democrat Kendrick Meek for US Senate. While Meek is an excellent candidate, strongly consider voting for Charlie Crist as the main objective in the Senate race needs to be to stop Marco Rubio at all cost. Rubio is vehemently anti-gay and is a product of the Tea Party movement. Although Crist stops short of supporting full marriage equality, his chances of besting Rubio are much better than Meek and he has improved dramatically on his stances on gay rights. Click below for Equality Florida’s Voter’s Guide.