TicketsJan. 4, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Cincinnati basketball team began its inaugural journey in the prestigious and powerful BIG EAST Conference in impressive fashion on Wednesday night with a convincing 82-60 win over fellow league newcomer DePaul, 82-60 at Fifth Third Arena.
UC won its ninth straight game and manhandled the visiting Blue Demons in all phases of the game, taking control of the game late in the first half before putting an exclamation point on the victory with a dominating second half. Cincinnati shot 51 percent in the second half and out-rebounded the taller Demons 30-16 after halftime.
The Bearcats, 12-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play, led 35-23 at halftime and put the game on ice by hitting DePaul with a 16-5 run in the first 4:36 of the second stanza to send the Blue Demons to their 15th straight loss in Cincinnati. DePaul fell to 7-5 and 0-1 in BIG EAST play.
The power forward duo of senior Eric Hicks and junior Cedric McGowan, along with the instant offense off the bench from senior guard Jihad Muhammad, was all the Bearcats needed to post their 12th straight conference-opening win going back to their days in Conference USA (10 straight) and one year in the Great Midwest Conference.
Hicks shared game-high scoring honors with Muhammad with 20 points to go along with his season-high 15 rebounds, while McGowan matched his career-best with 13 points and had a career-high 20 rebounds, the most by a Bearcat player since former All-American and Player of the Year Kenyon Martin had 23 rebounds against DePaul on Feb. 21, 1998. Muhammad's 20-point outburst was a season-high.
The double-double for Hicks was his second straight, fourth of the season, and 17th of his career, while McGowan, who has been close a couple of occasions this season, posted his first career double-double in a Bearcat uniform.
"Two guys really brought it tonight - Cedric is our best defensive rebounder and he had 14 off the glass, and Eric is much better on the offensive glass and he was huge with 12 offensive boards," said UC head coach Andy Kennedy. "Cedric has been steady for us since day one. He is a fantastic kid and works hard in practice and earns the right to be productive in games."
The Bearcats started off slow, falling behind by five, 14-9 with 12:16 left in the first half after a jumper by DePaul freshman forward Wilson Chandler. UC then took control of the game by turning up the defense and outscoring the Blue Demons 24-9 over the next 10 minutes to go up 33-23 with 2:39 left before halftime. The Bearcats held DePaul to just two baskets over the final 12 minutes of the half and limited the Demons to just 27 percent shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes (7-26).
"We are playing together and we're playing on the same page right now," admitted senior swingman James White, who contributed 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. "Everybody is looking for each other and everyone is contributing in their role."
UC shot 47 percent from the field, but committed just six turnovers. Defensively, the Bearcats manhandled DePaul, enjoying a season-best plus-18 rebounding margin (53-35) and holding the Demons to just 36 percent shooting.
"We came out and out-smarted them and were quicker and more physical," McGowan said. "They are big, but not that physical. We got first blood, went real hard, and got all the rebounds." McGowan, who suffered a shoulder injury on Dec. 23 in the win over LSU, has averaged 11.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in the three games since the injury.
With Hicks and McGowan both going for double-doubles, it marked the second straight game the Bearcats have had two players post double-doubles. Hicks and freshman guard Devan Downey turned the trick on Dec. 30 against North Carolina A&T.
DePaul was led in scoring by junior guard Sammy Mejia, who had 20 points, while Chandler added 17. Draelon Burns posted a double-double for the Blue Demons with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
"Andy (Kennedy) has done a great job with these kids. He is a very bright young coach," admitted DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright. "I think the kids are really relating to him. Their record is no fluke. It is a testimony to him and his staff and the senior leadership they have."
UC now hits the road for a pair of tough BIG EAST games, beginning on Saturday (Jan. 7) at Marquette (11-3, 1-0). Tip-off time at the Bradley Center is at 12 noon EST and the game is the ESPN Regional Big East Game of the Week, which will air in Cincinnati on WXIX-TV Fox 19. Marquette is coming off a 15-point win at home on Tuesday night over No. 2 Connecticut.
And speaking of UConn, the Bearcats face the Huskies next Monday, Jan. 9 at the Hartford Civic Center. Game time is 7 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally as part of ESPN's Big Monday package. All Bearcat games can also be heard on 700 WLW Radio.