TicketsDec. 2, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. - As part of the HTC BIG EAST/SEC Challenge, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team went on the road for the first time this season and defeated Georgia 57-51 Friday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.
Sophomore wing Sean Kilpatrick (White Plains, N.Y./Notre Dame Prep) scored 22 points and junior guard Dion Dixon (Chicago, Ill./Crane Technical Prep Common) added 19 to lead the Bearcats, who recorded runs of 10-0 and 9-0 in the second half to earn their first comeback win of the season.
With Georgia leading 43-40, Dixon scored 10 consecutive points, including three-pointers on three straight possessions, to put the Bearcats ahead 50-43.
It was the second big run of the half for Cincinnati (5-2), which trailed 30-21 at halftime.
Trailing 38-31 with 13:02 remaining, Cincinnati's defense held Georgia (4-4) scoreless for 6:10 and went on an 9-0 run to take a 40-38 lead.
In the final minute of the game, the Bulldogs elected not to foul despite trailing 50-46. Kilpatrick made them pay with a dagger three-pointer from the left baseline corner with just 23 ticks left.
After shooting just 3 for 10 from downtown in the first half, the Bearcats hit 6 of 10 in the second.
The UC defense played extremely tough in the second half, holding Georgia to just 6 for 21 from the field in the game's final 20 minutes. Cincinnati also had eight steals, three blocks and forced 14 turnovers.
The Bearcats looked unaffected playing for the first time away from Fifth Third Arena in the early stages after they took a 7-0 lead through the first two minutes of the game.
However, Cincinnati struggled to hit shots the rest of the first half, converting on just 9 of 27 field goals (33.3 percent) and missing all four of its free-throw attempts. Georgia shot 42.3 percent (11 of 26) and out-rebounded the Bearcats 19-16.
Starting at the 16:02 mark of the first half, UC went 9:10 without scoring; during which time Georgia went on 12-0 run to take a 15-9 lead.
Kilpatrick ended the draught by nailing a three from the top of the key with 6:52 left. Dixon knotted the score 15-15 on UC's next offensive possession with a three from the left corner.
After junior center Cheikh Mbodj (Dakar, Senegal/Grayson County College) grabbed an offensive board for a putback to make score 20-17 in favor of Georgia, the Bulldogs scored nine straight points to take 29-17 lead and ended the half outscoring UC 10-4.
Kilpatrick and junior point guard Cashmere Wright (Savannah, Ga./Urban Christian Academy) each scored five points in the first half to lead the UC offense.
Cincinnati next plays Xavier in the Crosstown Shootout at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at XU's Cintas Center.