TicketsWhite Scores Career-High In Bearcat Triumph
UC tops Houston, 87-68
Contact: Brian Teter
1/29/2005
Jason Maxiell was two blocks shy of a triple-double on Saturday. photo by Mark Bealer |
CINCINNATI, Ohio?James White scored a career-high 25 points and Jason Maxiell nearly had a triple-double as No. 20 Cincinnati defeated Houston 87-68 in Conference USA action on Saturday night. The game was played in UC?s Fifth Third Arena before a crowd of 12,365.
White made 9 of 12 shots from the field, including three of three from behind the arc, while also grabbing a season-best 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Maxiell scored 14 points, while also pulling down 10 boards and blocking a career-best eight shots. Nick Williams also had 14 points, with Eric Hicks reaching double-figures with 11. UC improves to 17-3 on the season, with a 6-1 mark in C-USA, good for a share of first place with Louisville. Both UC and Louisville had started the day in a three-way tie, but Charlotte saw its share of first erased after a 54-51 defeat at East Carolina earlier today.
?He didn?t play very well Thursday night, but he had a great practice yesterday,? UC head coach Bob Huggins said of White. ?He came out and played really well today. He really rebounded the ball and there isn?t a reason he can?t do that against everyone we play.?
Andre Owens, ranked fourth in C-USA this year in scoring, led all players with 26 points, but made just 8 of 23 shots from the field. Lanny Smith also reached double figures with 20 points, but like Owens struggled from the field, converting just 8 of 21 field goal attempts.
The Bearcats got the night off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 on a lay-up by Owens and three by Ramon Dyer. UC came back to tie the score at five, but found themselves down 10-9 after Owens dropped in a pair of free throws. The Bearcats then responded with a 10-0 run that pushed the home team into the lead for good. Williams and White led the charge, combining for all but two of the 10 points.
Leading by nine with less than eight minutes remaining, the Bearcats again hit a spurt, going on a 9-1 run to go up by a first-half high 17. This time it was Maxiell at the center of the run, as the 6-7 senior knocked down four straight free throws, just before Hicks put the exclamation point on the run with a dunk off an assist from Jihad Muhammad.
UC led by 11 after Houston bounced back with a 7-1 run, but closed the first half with six straight points by White to take a 43-26 lead into the lockerroom.
The first half stats were all Bearcats, as UC held a .448 to .303 edge shooting. The Bearcats had also grabbed the advantage on the boards by a 24-16 count. White had already scored 16 points to lead all scorers in the half, while Smith led Houston with seven before the break.
The opening of the second half saw the Bearcats go on an 11-4 run to open their largest lead to that point, 24 with 14:48 still to play. Williams and White each knocked down three?s during the run for UC. After Smith scored on a lay-up, White got the home crowd into a frenzy when he took a fast break pass from Muhammad and threw down a reverse alley-oop jam to put the Bearcats ahead 56-32.
Houston continued to chip away at the Bearcat advantage by knocking down three treys in a five minute span to get the deficit back under 20. But with a 9-3 run the Bearcats pushed the lead back to 25 for the first of three occasions in the half. Down the stretch, the Cougars continued to battle, getting back within 15 as Huggins cleared his bench, but a dunk and lay-up by Roy Bright in the last 20 seconds gave the Bearcats their final 19-point winning margin.
?That?s Bob?s trademark-they play great D,? Houston coach Tom Penders said of the Bearcats. ?They communicate really well and are strong on the interior. We ran some stuff and we changed some things but they made some adjustments. Their defense is excellent and I was very impressed with their interior game. They have good balance inside and out.?
The Bearcats ended the night shooting .466 from the floor while holding a sizable 51-36 advantage on the boards. Houston committed just five turnovers on the night, the lowest by a UC opponent this season, which led to a season-low one steal by the Bearcats.
UC returns to the court next week with a pair of key C-USA road contests. The Bearcats will visit Louisville in a battle for first place on Wednesday (Feb. 2), before traveling to Charlotte on Saturday. UC is next at home on Feb. 10 when they host Xavier in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.