TicketsNov. 21, 2006
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CINCINNATI, Ohio - A record-breaking performance by freshman Deonta Vaughn was not enough as Cincinnati suffered its first defeat under Mick Cronin, 91-90, to Wofford at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday night.
Vaughn led a Bearcat offense that made 17-of-32 three-pointers, the third-most three-point makes ever by a UC team. Vaughn, the only true freshman on the UC roster, made 9-of-17 triples to score a game-high 33 points. The nine treys are a UC freshman record and one behind Melvin Levett's school-record.
The margin in the game came from the foul line, as Wofford (4-1) shot 29 free throws and made 22, while UC (3-1) was just 5-of-8. The final free throw by the Terriers was the game-winner, as Eric Marshall made 1-of-2 with five seconds left to provide the final margin.
"Our hand-checking and fouling is what beat us," said Cronin. "We got lazy at times and sometimes we got over-aggressive and put them on the foul line too much. At the end of the day, we were minus 18 at the foul line in made free throws. If you are minus 18 and you lose by one, it's a miracle."
Marshall finished with 27 points, making four three-pointers and seven free throws to go with eight rebounds. Shane Nichols added 20 points.
John Williamson had a double-double for UC with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Marcus Sikes added 20 points and seven boards. Senior returning starter Cedric McGowan played just 18 minutes, five in the second half, after being saddled with foul trouble. He finished with just two points and three rebounds.
After neither team led by more that five in the first 14 minutes of the second half, the game was tied at 72-72 with 6:16 to go. Wofford then used the foul line to go on an 8-0 run. Tyler Whatley scored two lay-ups and the other four points came from the line as WC went ahead 80-72 with 4:40 left.
After scoring just three points in the first 16:26 of the second half, Vaughn ignited a furious Bearcats comeback, draining two triples and making a driving lay-in to combine with two Marvin Gentry treys on a 14-8 run that pulled UC within two with 1:56 left.
After forcing a Wofford turnover, Vaughn attempted to regain the lead with a three-pointer. He was off the mark, but Williamson grabbed the carom and fed Sikes for a tying score with 1:10 to go.
Marshall responded for Wofford, driving the lane and feeding Matt O'Connor for the go-ahead score. Williamson then re-tied the game with an inside score with 26 seconds on the clock.
Wofford appeared to be in trouble with the clock winding down when Marshall drove the baseline and was fouled by a reaching Vaughn. He missed the first shot from the charity stripe, but made the second after a UC timeout. Vaughn's three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
There were eight ties and five lead changes in the second half.
The Bearcats are off for the Thanksgiving holiday before retaking the court on Saturday, Nov. 25, to host Central Michigan at 6 p.m.
The Terriers came out smoking right from the start. After Williamson scored six early points to stake the Bearcats to an 8-5 lead, Wofford hit three triples in a 13-6 run to take an 18-14 lead eight minutes in. Junior Salters made two of his three first-half treys in this stretch.
After that Vaughn took over. He had made just 1-of-8 three-point attempts on the season before making four straight in an 18-3 Bearcat run. UC made six consecutive threes in the run, with Williamson and Sikes providing the other two.
Trailing 32-21 with 7:36 left in the half, Salters drained another trey to key a 12-0 run that gave the Terriers a 33-32 edge at the 4:47 mark. Vaughn came right back with a pair of threes and a lay-in to give UC a 42-38 lead at the break.
In all, Vaughn scored 22 points in the first half, making 6-of-9 from behind the arc. His 22 came in UC's final 30 points of the half. Williamson added 13 points and a game-high five rebounds.
Salters led WC with 14 points. He and Nichols (nine points) combined to make 6-of-7 shots from three. There were three ties and nine lead changes in the half.