TicketsMarch 21, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Cincinnati shook off a slow start and got a record breaking performance from senior Eric Hicks as the Bearcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament with a 76-62 win over Minnesota on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats, now 21-12 on the year, will host South Carolina on Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
After connecting on just 2 of its first 10 shots, Cincinnati exploded on a 14-0 first half run to take a lead it would not relinquish. Hicks was at the center of the win, scoring 23 points and making a significant dent on the UC blocks records. With four rejections, Hicks broke Kenyon Martin's single season record with 110 blocks. He also moves past Jason Maxiell for second place on the career blocks list with 253. The 6-6 senior grabbed 11 rebounds in the contest for his 27th career double-double and 14th this season.
Cincinnati shot a stout 49 percent from the floor in the win, including a 9 for 14 effort by Hicks. James White added 17 points, while Cedric McGowan had 11. Devan Downey scored just seven points, but handed out nine of Cincinnati's 21 assists. Jihad Muhammad also struggled with his shooting touch, making just 2 of 11 shots, but tallied six assists.
Minnesota, which finishes its season at 16-15, got 18 points from Vincent Grier and 12 from Adam Boone. The Gophers shot 48 percent in the second half to end the night at 42 percent shooting.
Tickets for Thursday's quarterfinal against South Carolina go on sale at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at www.UCBearcats.com or at the UC Ticket Office (513-556-CATS). Season ticket holders will have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to claim their regular season seats. All seats not claimed by season ticket holders will be released to the public Thursday at 9 a.m. Students can sign up on-line from at 9 a.m. Wednesday until 8 a.m. Thursday.
The Bearcats got off to a slow start, taking the early lead on a White turnaround jumper, but then seeing the visitors rip off 11 of the next 14 points to take an 11-5 advantage. Jamal Abu-Shamala capped the early Gopher run with a three, giving Minnesota the six-point edge with 14 minutes remaining.
At that point UC came to life, getting seven points from Chadd Moore during the 14-point spurt that pushed the Bearcats into the lead to stay at 19-11. White then got into the scoring spree, helping Cincinnati build a 10-point cushion at 29-19 with a pair of threes. Later in the first half, Hicks got into the long range act as he sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a Downey lay-in, to help Cincinnati to a first half high 12 point advantage.
Coming out of the break, Minnesota got hot, scoring nine of the first 13 points to trim the Bearcats' lead to five with just over 15 minutes to play. But Cincinnati responded, getting five points from Hicks as part of an 8-2 run that pushed the home team's advantage back to double digits at 51-40.
Just before the eight minute mark, White took a fastbreak pass from Downey and with one electrifying dunk, the Cincinnati lead was at a game-high 15. From there, UC would maintain its double figure lead down to the final 76-62 margin.
The Bearcats were able to score the victory despite connecting on just 13 of 22 attempts from the foul line. UC outrebounded the Gophers by a 37-32 margin in the victory.