TicketsBearcats Tough Out Sixth Straight Win
UC drills Detroit 61-44
Contact: Brian Teter
12/11/2004
Armien Kirkland led UC with 19 points in the Bearcats' win over Detroit. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? Despite being out-rebounded by a season-high 14 rebounds and playing without junior power forward Eric Hicks, the 20th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats improved to 6-0 on the season with a 61-44 win over Detroit before 10,083 fans at Fifth Third Arena.
Hicks, who averages 13.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and a team-best 3.0 blocked shots per game, suffered a strained left knee in Thursday night's win over Vanderbilt. He came down and hyper-extended it following an acrobatic dunk in the second half. He will be evaluated day-to-day and is hopeful to be ready for the Bearcats' next game on Saturday, Dec. 18.
UC never trailed in the contest and it looked like it would be easy after the Bearcats jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in the game?s first 1:48. However, Detroit did not wilt and the Titans went on a 10-3 run of their own over the next 4:13 to cut UC?s lead to 12-10 with 13:44 left in the opening half.
Cincinnati then went on a 16-6 run over the next seven minutes to lead 28-16, but the offense began to stall and the Bearcats could muster just four free throws and no field goals in the final 6:04 of the first half and settled for a 32-21 advantage.
?I just thought they (Detroit) were more physical than us tonight,? said UC head coach Bob Huggins. ?I thought we played pretty well defensively, but when you get out-rebounded that badly, you give them so many more second chances, it makes it hard.?
Detroit, which dropped its fifth straight game to fall to 1-6, won the battle of the boards 40-26, the most a team has out-rebounded the Bearcats in 46 games since Charlotte out-boarded UC by 16 on Feb. 15, 2003.
Junior forward Armein Kirkland led the Bearcats in scoring for the fourth straight game with 19 points. He also added five rebounds and a season-high four assists before fouling out late in the game.
Senior forward Jason Maxiell, who was bottled up all night by a collapsing UD defense, added 15 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots. He made all four of his field goal attempts and was 7-11 from the free throw line. Maxiell, though, clearly felt the loss of his running mate in the frontcourt against the Titans.
?They took me out of the rebounding game. It was a struggle for me to get my rebounds tonight,? Maxiell said. ?It is going to be difficult for me if Eric (Hicks) can?t play.?
The Bearcats looked to have the game in hand with 13:45 left after extending their lead to 41-27, only to see Detroit go on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 41-37, but UC countered with a 10-2 run of its own to go up 51-39 and cruise to its sixth straight win.
Cincinnati?s defense held UD to just 29 percent shooting from the field (17-58) and forced the Titans into 16 turnovers, including 12 in the second half.
?I am very proud of my guys. We brought a lot of fight to the floor tonight,? Detroit head coach Perry Watson explained. ?Our inability to capitalize on some layups and free throws, and a couple of turnovers when we had cut the lead, really hurt us.?
Detroit was led by Torvoris Baker?s 11 points and eight rebounds. Leading scorer James Thues, who came in averaging 12 points per game, was held scoreless by the Bearcats tenacious defense, and he attempted only one shot in the second half.
?At times we played well offensively, and when they came back, we could have panicked,? said Huggins. "We got out-rebounded, but other than that, we played pretty well.?
The Bearcats are off until next Saturday, December 18 when Northwestern State (La.) visits Fifth Third Arena for a 7 p.m. contest. The game is the second round of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, which has the first two rounds at campus sites and then the last two rounds in Las Vegas (Dec. 30-31).
GAME NOTES
Jason Maxiell moved into 25th place on UC?s all-time scoring list with 1,148 points.
The 61 points scored by the Bearcats was a season-low.
The 44 points and 29 percent field goal percentage allowed by UC against Detroit were season-lows by an opponent.
Junior guard Jihad Muhammad?s five assists was a UC career-best.