TicketsFeb. 4, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University, whose basketball followers have adopted the slogan "You've been Pittsnogled" to celebrate the exploits of its 6-9 star, was "Hicks-ed" during the University of Cincinnati's visit to WVU Coliseum on Saturday.
Eric Hicks, the Bearcats' 6-6 senior, turned in another stellar performance, scoring 22 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking three shots. He flushed seven dunks in an 11-of-14 shooting performance, while tirelessly playing all but three minutes of the contest.
Hicks' efforts were not quite enough as Cincinnati fell to No. 11 West Virginia, 66-57. The setback dropped UC to 15-8 overall and under the .500 mark in BIG EAST Conference play with a 4-5 ledger. The Bearcats will try to rebound on Monday when hosting rival Louisville.
West Virginia remained perfect (8-0) in league play and climbed to 17-4 overall. After dropping three of their first five games, the Mountaineers have been one of college basketball's hottest teams, winning 15 of their last 16.
"We had our opportunities," stated UC head coach Andy Kennedy. "We just didn't take advantage of them. We got some good looks and couldn't knock the shots down and we turned the ball over too much."
Cincinnati held the upper hand though most of the closely-fought first half, with Hicks setting the pace. Midway through the period, he keyed a 10-2 run with a dunk and a pair of layups that gave UC a six-point lead. Over another span, he finished three straight possessions with dunks.
The Bearcats failed to take advantage of cold WVU shooting (.353 field goal percentage, 4-of-17 from 3-point range). UC committed an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers, 11 in the first half, and was only 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati held a 33-30 lead at intermission. The Mountaineers regained their shooting eyes in the second half. Kevin Pittsnogle hit treys on successive possessions which empowered WVU to regain the lead. West Virginia seized control of the game with an early 13-2 scoring run.
The Bearcats contributed to their second half demise by shooting only .360 from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Kennedy thought the momentum of the game turned on Pittsnogle's baskets. "All of a sudden, the lead changed and it was an uphill battle from there," stated UC's interim head coach.
Pittsnogle, whose wife gave birth to a son on Friday, finished with 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Mike Gansey led WVU with 14 points and Johannes Herber had 11 points and seven assists.
Jihad Muhammad tallied 15 points for UC, but also had five turnovers. James White, who recovered from an ankle sprain suffered in Tuesday's win over USF to play 34 minutes, had 10 points. Cedric McGowan recorded 11 rebounds to help Cincinnati post a 43-31 advantage on the boards.
NOTES
- Eric Hicks' 22 points and 11 rebounds marked his eight double-double over his last 11 games, the 10th of the season and the 23rd of his career. He vaulted into a tie for 37th place on UC's career scoring chart with 1,058 points.
- Cedric McGowan's 11 rebounds marked his second straight double-digit rebounding game and his fifth of the season.
- Jihad Muhammad recorded a career-high four steals.
- Cincinnati's 18 turnovers topped their total of the previous two games combined (12) and was only the second time in the past seven games that the Bearcats were in double figures in turnovers.
- James White topped the 1,100 point mark in career scoring, finishing the game with 1,107. The transfer from Florida has 925 points in his three seasons as a Bearcat.
- West Virginia was whistled for only five personal fouls, the second-fewest by a UC opponent. Kentucky committed only four fouls in the 24-11 slowdown game in 1983-84. The Bearcats made all four of their free throw attempts, but didn't get to the foul line until the 6:17 mark of the second half.