TicketsJan. 14, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. - Deonta Vaughn led the University of Cincinnati with 21 points, but it was not enough in a 74-59 loss at South Florida.
Kentrell Gransberry pounded out 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds Sunday, in leading USF (10-8, 1-3 Big East)to the victory. Cincinnati (9-7, 0-2) returns to the hardwood Wednesday night at Syracuse.
McHugh Mattis had 17 points and Melvin Buckley added 16 for South Florida, which led by 11 at halftime before using a 17-3 spurt to build the advantage to 52-27 with 11:44 to play.
Coming out of a timeout, UC turned up the defensive intensity with fullcourt pressure and after being limited to one field goal in the first eight minutes of the second half, Cincinnati put together a 16-0 run to get back in the game.
The Bearcats cut the deficit to nine on two occasions, but couldn't get any closer. The margin was single-digits for the first time after Vaughn's 3-pointer made it 52-43 with 9:21 remaining. Treys on back-to-back possessions, by Marvin Gentry and Marcus Sikes made it 58-49, with 7:48 left.
Cincinnati travels to the Carrier Dome Wednesday for a BIG EAST match-up with Syracuse. Last year, the Bearcats and Orange met twice in the regular season, with the road team winning each time.