TicketsMaxiell's 24 Leads UC Past Cowboys, 61-50
Bearcats win defensive struggle over RIP's No. 1 team.
Contact: Tom Hathaway
2/9/2003
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Cincinnati got back in the win column by winning the battle of defenses and trimmed No. 11 Oklahoma State, 61-50, on Sunday afternoon.
Jason Maxiell scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Bearcats to their 14th win, halting a three-game losing skid. Oklahoma State, ranked No. 1 in the Ratings Percentage Index, dropped to 18-3.
Cincinnati made the Cowboys (No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, No. 12 by USA Today/ESPN) the 14th foe held under 60 points and the 10th opponent limited to sub-.400 shooting. Oklahoma State shot .340 from the floor, .167 from 3-point range, the latter a season-low by a UC opponent. Victor Williams led the visitors with 18 points with Melvin Sanders adding 13.
Oklahoma State scoring leader Tony Allen, who entered the contest averaging 16.2 points, was held to just four on 1-of-13 shooting.
"I thought we played pretty well defensively this afternoon," was the understatement by UC head coach Bob Huggins. "We put ourselves in a bind early by throwing them the ball twice and they turned it into five points, but other than that, this was probably as good as we have played for 40 minutes all season long."
"The game was competitive and physical on both sides," added senior Leonard Stokes. "At one point in the game, the place was so loud that my ears were ringing. We fed off that and really came out fighting"
The Bearcats took command of the back-and-forth struggle with a 14-0 scoring run early in the second half. Sanders scored 37 seconds into the period on a layup but, fouled on the play, failed to complete the three-point play.
Field Williams launched Cincinnati's run with a trey at the 18:50 mark and had six of the 14 points. Stokes, who finished with 15 points and a career high-tying 10 rebounds, had a pair of baskets.
Oklahoma State was 0-for-9 from the field and committed three turnovers during the run. Victor Williams' layup at the 11:34 mark ended the drought, but the Cowboys trailed, 41-30 and would get only as close as nine points the rest of the way.
The first half was a see-saw affair which saw four ties and 11 lead changes. Stokes scored Cincinnati's first six points. Maxiell took things in hand, scoring 16 of his points in the final 14 minutes of the half. The 6-7 sophomore gave UC a 27-26 halftime lead with 37 seconds remaining.
"We did a good job of stopping Williams and Stokes but Maxiell just went crazy," stated Oklahoma State mentor Eddie Sutton. "He did a good job of getting his shot and really worked hard.
"Both teams play the same style of basketball," said Sutton. "Both team play outstanding defense. Today, we basically were outplayed by their big guys."
Cincinnati posted a 38-29 rebounding advantage. Complementing Stokes' 10 boards were Kareem Johnson, with nine, and Eric Hicks, who finished with seven.
While Huggins stopped short of calling this a must-win, the coach did observe its importance.
?We are No. 20 in the RPI and we just beat the team that was ranked first, so that will have to help us," Huggins stated. "It has always been our goal around here to get to the NCAA Tournament and see how far we can go. The win today will help us and I am glad because I want to see guys like Leonard Stokes and Taron Barker get a chance to keep playing.
"At the end of the year, there are going to be a bunch of teams with six or seven losses and we will have a win over the top team.?
The significance was not lost to Taron Barker, who finished with five points and six assists. "Today was kind of like our Super Bowl. It was a huge game, do or die."
NOTES:
? Cincinnati has six days until its next game, a Saturday visit to Charlotte. The Bearcats plan to practice on Monday and Tuesday and take Wednesday off.
? Maxiell's 24 points comes on the heels of his 21-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Louisville on Wednesday. His totals for the week: 22.5 points per game, .621 shooting (18 of 29), 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks.
? Oklahoma State became the 14th opponent that Cincinnati held to fewer than 60 points and the 10th foe held under the .400 mark in field goal percentage.
? The Cowboys? .167 3-point field goal percentage was a season low by a Cincinnati opponent.
? With the win, Cincinnati kept its streak alive of having never suffered consecutive losses in the Shoemaker Center.
? The Bearcats are now 14-0 when leading at the half. They had a 27-26 margin in today?s game.