TicketsJan. 19, 2013
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CINCINNATI — Sean Kilpatrick's career-high 36 points and layup with 4.3 seconds left lifted No. 24 Cincinnati to a 71-69 win over No. 25 Marquette Saturday evening before a season-high crowd of 12,812 at Fifth Third Arena.
After Marquette junior forward Davante Gardner tied the score 69-69 by completing a three-point play with 14.8 seconds left, Kilpatrick dribbled the ball up court and, after receiving a solid ball screen from Kelvin Gaines at the top of the key, split a double team and drove left before netting a left-handed layup.
Marquette senior guard Junior Cadougan pushed the ball up the length of the floor before missing a layup from the left side of the basket at time expired.
The win ended Cincinnati's three-game home losing streak and improved its BIG EAST Conference record to 4-2, despite allowing Marquette (13-3, 4-1 BIG EAST) to overcome a 16-point halftime deficit.
Three 3-pointers by MU junior guard Vander Blue, who led the Golden Eagles with 19 points, set up an 11-2 second-half opening run by the Golden Eagles to cut Cincinnati's lead to 31-24 with 16:51 left. After missing all nine of its 3-pointers in the first half, MU nailed six of eight treys to start the second half.
Cincinnati and Marquette traded 10 points each over a 3:42 span that maintained UC's lead to seven points, 41-34, at the 12:14 mark of the second half.
A 3-point play by Blue brought Marquette to within five points, 43-38, at the 10:29 mark. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to one with 7:12 to play after a fast-break layup by Cadougan.
Kilpatrick's fifth made 3-pointer put UC up four points 50-46 with 6:29 left in the second half.
UC senior guard JaQuon Parker grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a jumper in the paint to give the Bearcats a six-point lead before Marquette made the score 55-54 when redshirt junior forward Jamil Wilson made a 3-pointer from the left corner off an inbounds play with 4:02 left.
Cincinnati junior forward Titus Rubles, who produced his first-career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Kilpatrick each made a pair of free throws that increased Cincinnati's lead back to five points, 59-54, with 2:51 left. A Rubles left-handed layup on a drive to the lane pushed UC's lead to 61-57 with 2:15 left.
Gardner, who tallied 15 points on the strength of 13-for-15 free-throw shooting, hit a pair from the charity stripe to cut UC's lead to 61-59. MU tied the score with 45 seconds left when senior guard Trent Lockett tipped in an offensive rebound.
After Cincinnati called a timeout with 21 seconds left in regulation, Kilpatrick got fouled on a jump shot from the right elbow and made both free throws for a short-lived 63-61 advantage with 14.6 seconds left. Gardner again tied the score with two free throws with 2.9 seconds left in the second half to force overtime.
In the opening minute of overtime Marquette took its first lead of the game, 66-63, on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Todd Mayo.
A Rubles free throw tied the score 66-66 with 2:39 left in overtime. Kilpatrick's runner at the 1-minute mark put the Bearcats back in front 68-66 and broke his previous career high of 32 points set Nov. 23, 2012 vs. Iowa State.
Kilpatrick then made 1 of 2 free throws with 25 ticks left for a 69-66 Bearcats lead before Gardner tied the score on his 3-point play that fouled out junior forward Justin Jackson in 16 minutes.
Along with Jackson, UC centers Chiekh Mbodj (13 minutes) and David Nyarsuk (18 minutes) both fouled out.
UC suffocated Marquette on the offensive end during the first half in route to a 29-13 halftime lead. The 13 points scored by the Golden Eagles was their lowest total of the season for any half and the fewest allowed by a Mick Cronin-coached Cincinnati squad.
Playing primarily in a zone defense, the Bearcats forced MU into a 17.9 (5 for 28) field-goal percentage in the first period, including 0 for 9 from 3-point range. Additionally, Cincinnati controlled the glass, outrebounding MU 26-18 in the first 20 minutes.
With senior point guard Cashmere Wright sidelined with a sprained right knee, sophomore guard Jermaine Sanders got his first career start and buried his first two 3-pointer shots to give UC a quick 8-2 lead before the Bearcats went on a 6:08 scoring drought. Kilpatrick ended the skid with five straight points to put UC up 13-3 at the 9:10 mark.
After outscoring UC 6-2 to cut the lead to 15-9, UC went on a 10-0 run to jump ahead 25-9 at the 4:22 mark.
Cincinnati ended the half outscoring Marquette 14-4 over the final 7:17 of the first.
Up next for Cincinnati is a road trip to No. 6 Syracuse for at 3:30 p.m. Monday tilt on ESPN.