TicketsBearcats Roll Over Jackson State For Eighth Straight Win
UC gets first double-double from Bright
Contact: Brian Teter
12/20/2004
Roy Bright scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in UC's win over Jackson State. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio?Cincinnati scored the first 14 points of the night and never looked back as the 17th ranked Bearcats rolled to their eighth straight win, a 95-43 dismantling of Jackson State on Monday night before a crowd of 9,866 at Fifth Third Arena.
Despite holding an advantage of just four on the boards, the Bearcats dominated the interior, led by freshman Roy Bright. In just the third start of his collegiate career, the Durham, N.C. native recorded the first double-double of his career, scoring a career-best 17 points and grabbing a career-high 11 boards. Eric Hicks tied his career-high with 18 points and added six rebounds off the bench, while Jason Maxiell had 12 points, eight rebounds and a career-best seven blocked shots.
The Bearcats, who are 8-0 on the year for the fifth time in the last 10 years, played withot junior swingman Armein Kirkland who sat out the contest with a sprained ankle.
The 52-point margin of victory was the Bearcats largest since an 89-37 win over Southern Miss on Feb. 15, 2002.
By game?s end, the Bearcats had dished out 27 assists on its 36 field goals. Chadd Moore handed out a career-high nine assists, while James White added seven.
?I thought we played hard,? UC head coach Bob Huggins stated. ?We wanted to come out hard and play with intensity. They did some things we needed to work on like play some zone press a little bit. We still have some things we need to work on.?
Maxiell showed he would be a force from the beginning, scoring seven of the Bearcats? first 14 points and blocking five shots by the end of the first half. The Bearcats dominated play from the outset, opening up a 48-18 lead by the break. UC held the Tigers to single digit points until the 7:43 mark of the first half when Antonio Williams-Parker knocked down a short jumper.
Leading by 19 with less than six minutes remaining before the half, UC closed the first 20 minutes of play with a 16-5 run to open the 30-point halftime advantage.
The first half stats were all Cincinnati, as they shot 52 percent from the field compared to 20 percent for the Tigers. UC also forced 14 Jackson State turnovers, which they turned into 18 points. The Bearcats dominated the paint, holding a 24-6 advantage. Hicks led all players with 12 points in the first half, while Maxiell added 10. The Bearcat offense handed out 16 assists on 20 first half field goals, led by White with six dimes and Moore with five.
The Bearcats continued to push the lead in the second half, while also allowing some playing time for their reserve players. Fan favorite John Meeker was one of the beneficiaries, as he played a career-best nine minutes and knocked down his first three-pointer since Jan. 18, 2003 against Tulane.
UC outshot the Tigers .471 to .278 in the second half as they continued to dominate. A pair of White free throws with 2:15 to play pushed the Bearcat advantage to its highest point, 54 and two Jamaal Lucas charity tosses equaled the margin again just over a minute later.
Williams-Parker led Jackson State, which falls to 3-8 on the year, with 12 points. UC held the Tigers? two leading scorers, Hilton Tompkins and Charlie White to a combined four points, with both of the White buckets coming in the last 1:37 of the game.
UC is back in action for its last game before the Holiday when they host LaSalle on Wednesday. Tip-off from Fifth Third Arena is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available by logging on to www.ucbearcats.com or by calling 513-556-CATS.