ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Sykes scored 23 points, including 16 in the second half when Central Florida ran away with a 63-45 victory over UTEP on Saturday night.

Sykes also had 11 rebounds, five on the offensive end, as UCF (20-8, 9-5 Conference USA) thumped UTEP on the boards 37-27. Keith Clanton added 12 points and seven rebounds and Marcus Jordan contributed 11 for the Knights, who improved to 15-1 at home this season.

UTEP reserve John Bohannon was the only player to score in double figures for the Miners (14-14, 7-7), getting 16 points and five rebounds off the bench.

With five minutes to go in the game and UCF nursing a 52-45 lead, Sykes finished a fast break with a three-point play to ignite an 11-0 run to finish the game. Clanton followed that with another three-point play and the Knights were able to coast to the win.

"Isaiah's effort really set the tone for our team because he really made some big toughness plays," UCF coach Donnie Jones said. "From offensive rebounding, to getting out in transition, to making some free throws, he got some ugly baskets, but that is what we really need from him."

UTEP entered the game with a four-game winning streak that included victories over Conference USA leaders Memphis and Southern Miss, but the Miners struggled to find a spark all night. A layup by Bohannon tied the game at 29 with 16 minutes left, but that was about all they had left in the tank as UCF methodically put them away.

"We just got thoroughly pounded in every aspect of the game," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "UCF was better than us in all areas, especially on the boards. We gave up 18 offensive rebounds. They had so many possessions where they got four or five shots because we made no commitment to getting the ball off the glass."

UCF led 25-23 at halftime, despite hitting only 8 of 27 shots (29.6 percent) from the field. Sykes was the only Knight to get more than one basket in the first half, when Jones benched starting point guard A.J. Rompza and center Josh Crittle for disciplinary reasons.

The two rejoined the lineup in the second half and UCF's ball movement and defensive intensity increased immediately. Rompza finished with four assists and Crittle had four points and two boards.