TicketsNo. 20 Bearcats Roll To Fifth Straight Victory
UC hammers Vandy at Fifth Third Arena
Contact: Brian Teter
12/9/2004
James White (14 points) was one of five Bearcats to score in double-figures. photo by Mark Bealer |
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Cincinnati broke out of its early season shooting slump on Thursday night as the 20th-ranked Bearcats recovered from a slow start and then cruised past Vanderbilt, 88-72 before 11,076 fans at Fifth Third Arena.
UC, now 5-0 on the season, fell behind early by 10 points at 17-7 with 13:53 remaining in the first half and still trailed 19-10 with 11:51 left before putting together its most impressive stretch of the season, outscoring Vandy 36-12 the rest of the half and enjoyed a 46-31 lead at the intermission.
The Bearcats were in control the entire second half, shooting a blistering 59 percent and then holding off a Vandy surge with 8:30 remaining as the Commodores cut a 19-point UC lead to nine at 68-59. However, a 7-0 run, triggered by a three-pointer from the left wing by junior forward Armein Kirkland, put the game away. UC actually led by as many as 23 before Vandy scored the final seven points of the game over the last two minutes to close out the scoring.
"I thought we shot better tonight because we were stepping into our shots. Our passes were crisp and were going to the areas where we could get some good looks," said UC head coach Bob Huggins. "We've been working really hard on our penetration and pitch. Our ball movement was better tonight but not where it needs to be."
Kirkland paced the Bearcats, who placed all five starters in double figures, with a game-high 19 points. He added three assists and two blocks. Senior forward Jason Maxiell notched his second double-double of the season, and 16th of his career, with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while juniors James White and Eric Hicks both added 14 apiece. Junior guard Jihad Muhammad chipped in 11 points in 17 minutes of action.
"It is a lot harder to guard when you have five players in double figures. When you are not sure who is going to hurt you, its tough," Huggins noted. "If we can get Nick (Williams) to come off the bench like Tony (Bobbitt) did last year, we can be a lot more potent offensively."
The Bearcat defense keyed the uprising in the first half for UC as the Bearcats forced the Commodores into 23 turnovers, 13 of those coming in the opening 20 minutes when UC took command. UC also finished with a season-best 14 steals, four coming by junior guard Chadd Moore.
Offensively, UC shot a season-high 52.5 percent from the field, including 50 percent from three-point range (8-16). UC also committed just seven turnovers while handing out 14 assists.
"I thought tonight was the best our offense has flowed this year," said White. "Everybody worked together and we passed the ball well in the first half. We worked together as a team, both offensively and defensively."
The combination of White and Kirkland continued their stellar play as they kept Vandy off balance with penetration and key long-range shooting.
"We knew we had to penetrate and kick to each other. That is how we get the mismatches," said Kirkland, who led the Bearcats in scoring for the third straight game. "When James and I draw double teams, that gets us easy buckets for Eric and Max (Jason Maxiell)."
Vanderbilt, a Sweet 16 team last year, dropped its third straight game to fall to 4-4, shot 48 percent for the game, the highest against UC this season.
"I thought that Cincinnati really played well and caused us problems in a lot of ways," said Vandy head coach Kevin Stallings. "They play really hard. Bob's teams always play hard. They rebound the heck out of it, but we helped them some. We killed ourselves with turnovers."
UC continues its six-game homestand on Saturday night when Detroit (1-5) visits Fifth Third Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. EST.