TicketsNov. 11, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio - On the night of his 22nd birthday, Marcus Sikes put up some memorable numbers in Cincinnati's 67-49 win over Tennessee-Martin on Saturday night. On the second day of the Jim Thorpe Classic, Sikes posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think (Sikes) was the MVP of the game tonight without a doubt," said head coach Mick Cronin. "He did a great job playing against bigger guys in the post. I can't imagine if we could play him in his natural position."
The Bearcats improved to 2-0 under first-year head coach Mick Cronin by holding the Skyhawks (1-1) to 31.5 percent shooting. John Williamson scored 23 points to lead all scorers, including 14 in the second half.
"I was extremely happy with our defensive effort tonight," added Cronin. "If we continue to hold teams to 31 percent shooting, we are going to have a chance to win some games."
Those second half points were key as the Bearcats' offense struggled in the second stanza, shooting just 38 percent from the field and making only 8-17 free throws.
After a Deonta Vaughn three-point play pushed UC's lead to 44-21 with 14:18 to play, the Bearcats scored just four points in the next four minutes. UTM, which missed its first 11 three-point attempts, hit two straight in an11-4 run to close to 48-32 with 10 minutes to play.
UC interrupted the run by scoring the next five points, but two Justin Flatt triples bookended a 10-1 run by the Skyhawks that made the score 54-42 with 5:50 on the clock.
UTM had the opportunity to pull closer when Cedric McGowan missed a pair of free throws, but Williamson grabbed the offensive rebound and put it back in to take the wind out of UTM's sails.
Williamson would score eight of UC's final 13 points to keep UTM at bay.
McGowan finished with seven points and seven rebounds and Deonta Vaughn had six assists. The Bearcats made just 1-13 three-pointers in the second half.
Bubba Tolliver led the Skyhawks with 12 points and seven rebounds and Gerald Robinson had 10 points. Both shot just 4-14 from the field.
A night after holding Howard to 21 percent shooting, the UC defense was strong again to open its second game. UTM made just one of its first 14 shots and had just six field goals in the entire first half. The Bearcats opened by making six of their first eight, including two three-pointers by Sikes and one by Williamson.
Sikes followed his second triple with a putback and Jamual Warren made a pair of free throws to give UC a 17-2 lead just over seven minutes into the game. Robinson came off the bench for the Skyhawks and scored all three baskets in a 6-2 run that cut the lead to 19-8.
UC got hot again from behind the arc and scored the next 13 points of the game. Sikes had another trey and Williamson hit a pair in the run and Vaughn had assists on all three.
A follow dunk by McGowan with 3:51 left in the half gave the Bearcats their biggest lead, 34-9. The Skyhawks scored the final two baskets of the half to make the score 36-15 at the break.
UTM shot just .231 from the field for the half, while UC was 13-30 (.433). Williamson and Sikes were 6-8 from behind the arc, but the rest of the team was 0-6. The Skyhawks missed all nine attempts from three.
Sikes had 13 points and eight boards at the break as UC held a 23-14 rebounding edge. Williamson recorded nine points and three assists and Vaughn handed out four assists.
Robinson was the only UTM player with more than two points with six. Cleve Woodford grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
The final day of the Thorpe Classic starts at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday with Howard battling UTM. Cincinnati faces High Point in the finale at approximately 7 p.m.