TicketsBearcats Fall To Cards For Second Time
Hicks' 21 points not enough in 77-70 defeat
Contact: Brian Teter
2/2/2005
Eric Hicks scored 21 points and blocked five shots at Louisville. |
LOUISVILLE, Ky.---One of college basketball?s best rivalries once again lived up to its billing as No. 9 Louisville earned a hard fought 77-70 victory over No. 17 Cincinnati on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall. An overflow crowd of 20,064 witnessed the event, marking the sixth-largest attendance ever inside Freedom Hall.
Taquan Dean led the winning Cardinals with 19 points, helping Louisville (19-3) grab an outright hold on first place in the Conference USA standings with a 7-1 mark. The Bearcats, who fall to 17-4 overall and 6-2 in league play, now find themselves as part of a five-team logjam for second place in the league standings, that includes DePaul, Memphis, UAB and Charlotte, UC?s opponent on Saturday.
Eric Hicks led all players with 21 points, while also grabbing a team-best eight rebounds and blocking five shots. But as was the case in Cincinnati?s Jan. 15 loss to U of L, poor free throw shooting once again haunted the Bearcats against the Cards. UC, who made just 17 of 30 (.567) from the charity stripe in the first match-up, converted just 20 of 31 (.645) from the foul line in the rematch.
"We did not make free throws," stated Bearcat head coach Bob Huggins. "They made plays, and we did not make plays. We played hard, we rebounded, we guarded and I thought that our effort was really good. They drove it at the basket, got fouled and made the free throws. We drove to the basket and missed lay-ups and missed free throws. That has really been the story of the year."
Nick Williams added 12 points for the Bearcats, while James White had 11. Other double-figure scorers for the Cards included Juan Palacios (17 points), Ellis Myles (11) and Francisco Garcia (11). Louisville was able to pull off the victory despite the foul trouble endured by both Myles and Garcia as each player spent considerable time on the bench in the second half before fouling out.
The Bearcats led just twice during the game, but managed to contest the Cardinals until the end. Trailing 68-64 with just over a minute left, U of L freshman Palacios hit the shot of the night, banking a long-range three-pointer off the backboard to push the Cardinals up seven. UC struggled from the floor in the late stages of the contest, converting just one field goal, a White put back with four seconds left, in the last four minutes of action.
UC didn?t get the night off to a very good start, missing its first five shots and falling behind 9-4 at the first media timeout. Heading into the under-12 minute stoppage, Dean hit his second trey of the night, giving Louisville a five-point edge. But coming out the break, Hicks ignited a 6-0 run that gave the Bearcats their first lead of the night, 16-15 with 9:57 to play.
The Bearcats? edge didn?t last long as the Cards returned the favor with an 8-1 spurt that put the home team back ahead by six. UC got back within a point on a pair of free throws by Williams, but then quickly saw its deficit climb to a first half-high of eight after a quick 7-0 Louisville spurt. UC cut the deficit to five on an Armein Kirkland jumper with 50 seconds left, but went into the break down 38-31 after a Brandon Jenkins shot.
The first half stats showed the Cards outshooting the Bearcats .429-.364 from the floor and bettering the visitors .308-.125 from behind the arc. After getting beaten badly on the boards early on, UC recovered to take a 24-22 margin in the first half rebounding totals.
Coming out halftime, Palacios put the Cardinals ahead by nine, only to see the Bearcats embark on a 13-2 run covering over six minutes to take a 44-42 lead. Maxiell, who saw limited first half playing time after picking up his second foul, started the run with a pair of field goals, while Hicks capped the spurt with two in a row.
Unfortunately for the Bearcats, Louisville once again had an answer for the deficit, this time getting four points by Palacios and two by Myles to go back in front 48-44. It appeared the momentum might start to swing into the Bearcats? corner with just under 10 minutes left when Garcia was whistled for his fourth foul at the 9:48 mark. But playing without their star, the Cardinals were able to hold serve, as they went up by nine when Dean drained a triple with 5:49 remaining.
With 4:33 to play, Williams once again pulled the Bearcats to within six with a three-ball, prompting Louisville head coach Rick Pitino to reinsert Garcia and Myles, both with four fouls, at the 3:59 mark. Garcia?s return to the court lasted just 1:08 as he was whistled for his fifth foul at the 2:51 mark, once again giving the Bearcats a slight edge.
But from there, UC continued to struggle from the floor, going over four minutes without a field goal in the latter stages. The Bearcats did draw back within four, only to see Palacios hit his circus shot with 1:17 to play. Down the stretch, Louisville went four of four from the line and capped the game with a Jenkins slam with two seconds remaining.
In addition to his 17 points, Palacios led all players with 10 rebounds, while Myles grabbed nine. UC held the advantage on the boards by a 45-42 count, falling for the first time in 13 games this season when they have held a rebounding edge. Louisville shot .415 percent from the floor for the night, compared to a .377 percent effort by Cincinnati.
The road doesn?t get much easier for the Bearcats from here, as they must travel to Charlotte (14-4, 5-2 C-USA) on Saturday. UC then returns home next Thursday (Feb. 10) to host Xavier in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.