TicketsJan. 20, 2007
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CINCINNATI, Ohio--Marvin Gentry scored a career-high 32 points, rallying Cincinnati from a 17-point deficit to a 96-83 overtime victory against West Virginia, its first win in the Big East this season.
Cincinnati (10-8, 1-3 BIG EAST) has fallen into the habit of falling behind by double-digits, then making it a game. The Bearcats trailed Syracuse by 19 points on Wednesday before taking a late lead, only to lose 77-76.
This time, they fell behind by 17 points, at the outset, then rallied behind Gentry. The junior from Fort Worth, Texas had never scored more than 13 points in a game. Gentry was 9-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc. John Williamson added 17 points and made the two defining shots in overtime. The Columbus, Ohio product led all players with 13 caroms to notch his fourth double-double of the campaign.
Williamson's three-point play put Cincinnati ahead to stay at the start of overtime. His steal and left-handed dunk helped the Bearcats build the lead to 11 points.
Alex Ruoff led West Virginia with 21 points. Frank Young added 13, but missed a fall-away jumper in the closing seconds of regulation that left it tied at 75-75.
The 96 points were the most scored by Cincinnati this season and also the most allowed this season by West Virginia, which leads the conference in defense and 3-point shooting.
The Mountaineers went 9-of-12 from behind the arc in the first half. The Bearcat defense went to fullcourt pressure in the second half and allowed WVU to convert only 6-of-28 the rest of the way.
West Virginia pulled ahead 24-7 while Cincinnati went 2-of-17 from the field, missing 10 shots in a row. Gentry finally got Cincinnati going, hitting three 3-pointers and a layup during a 14-0 run that cut the lead to three points, at 24-21.
The Mountaineers allowed Gentry only one more shot in the half -- he missed it -- and Young's buzzer-beating bank shot from midcourt put West Virginia up 43-31 at halftime.
West Virginia missed its first five 3-point attempts in the second half, allowing Gentry to lead the Bearcats on another run. He had a three-point play and passed to Cedric McGowan for a lay-in.
Cincinnati finally caught up after Gentry went to the bench with his fourth foul midway through the half. Williamson's lay-in tied it, and McGowan's alley-oop dunk put Cincinnati ahead 60-58 with 8:51 to go.
There were four lead changes down the stretch. Ruoff's 3-pointer put West Virginia ahead 74-73 with 1:03 left, but Cincinnati's Jamual Warren made a driving bank shot with 16.9 seconds to play, tying it at 75.