TicketsDec. 23, 2005
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Revenge, ah, sweet revenge.
The Cincinnati Bearcats got theirs with a resounding 81-63 victory over the Dayton Flyers on Thursday at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
Dayton stunned UC, 75-66, three weeks ago at Fifth Third Arena. It was the Flyers' first win in Cincinnati since 1971, and their second in the last 15 meetings, an achievement which was trumpeted in the Dayton Daily News' account of the rare victory by the proclamation that good had triumphed over evil.
So much for virtue's run in the Gem City.
The victory was Cincinnati's fifth straight, upping its ledger to 8-2. Dayton fell to 8-3.
The Bearcats enter the final round of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic tied with Northern Iowa for the lead in the round-robin tournament. Northern Iowa will face Dayton on Friday, preceding UC's game vs. 7-2 LSU.
Thursday's game was closer than the final 18-point victory margin might indicate. UC for all but 15 seconds, but could not stage that scoring run to take command of the action until the final six minutes.
Dayton cut UC's margin to one point, 59-58, with 7:51 to play. Jihad Muhammad hit a 3-pointer, one of only two treys in 17 tries by the Bearcats, to give UC a little breathing room. James White, who finished with 19 points, answered a Flyer free throw with a basket that gave UC a 64-49 edge.
The Bearcats held a 66-62 lead with 5:58 to play when they mounted a 15-0 scoring run to wrap up the win. Devan Downey sparked the run by scoring eight of his game-high 21 points. UC was 9-of-9 at the foul line during that burst.
UC dominated both ends of the court down that stretch, allowing the Flyers a single free throw. Six of UD's final 10 possessions were ended in turnovers.
UC's defense helped force 20 Dayton turnovers while the Bearcats committed a season-low seven miscues. Cincinnati remained red hot at the free throw line, making 25 of 27 free throws.
Fouls were almost a major undoing for UC. Eric Hicks and Armein Kirkland each picked up his fourth foul during the seven-minute mark of the second half.
"This really presents a problem because we don't have a lot of depth on the front line," head coach Andy Kennedy noted in his post-game radio interview. "It forced us to go with a small lineup, which enabled us to put pressure on the ball. I thought that was helpful during our second half spurt."
Notes:
* UC topped the 80-point mark for the fifth straight game, the longest streak since December of the 1996-97 season when Cincinnati topped the 80-point mark six straight times.
* It marked the second straight game in which five Bearcats scored in double figures (Downey 21, White 19, Cedric McGowan 11, Hicks and Kirkland each with 10).
* James White topped the 900-point mark in career scoring, finishing the game with 915. It was White's 100th college game.