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By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI -- Kevin Johnson picked a good night to have his most productive offensive game of the season.
With point guard Troy Caupain suffering through an 0-for-10 shooting night and scoring only one point on a free throw late in the game, Johnson picked up the slack with 15 points, which matched his career high, and connected on a 3-point shot late in the game that stymied Houston's comeback to lead the University of Cincinnati Bearcats to a 70-59 victory Wednesday night before 9,345 fans at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats (13-5 overall, 3-2 in the American Athletic Conference) led by 16 with 13:43 to play, but the Cougars, thanks largely to a flurry of offensive rebounds, trimmed the UC lead to three points, at 59-56, with 5:37 to go. On UC's next possession, Johnson drilled his fourth and final 3-pointer of the night.
"It was getting late (shot) clock," Johnson said. "Troy had the ball, made a play and kicked it to me. I know when it's late clock, they expect me to shoot that whether it goes in or not so we can get the ball on the rim and try to get a rebound. Not lucky, but thank God it was a good shot and it went in and helped us separate the game a little bit."
Johnson was one of four UC players to score in double figures. Gary Clark and Farad Cobb each scored 14 points and Octavius Ellis produced his fourth double-double of the season and the sixth of his career with 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Clark added six assists and Caupain contributed five even though he struggled to put the ball in the basket.
Houston (13-3, 3-1) committed 17 turnovers and was held 22 points below its season average of 81.5 points per game while shooting 36.4 percent from the field. Rob Gray Jr., the leading scorer in the American with an average of 18.6 points, managed only six points on 3-of-11 shooting.
"He can make some threes but 75 percent of his points are scored inside the line," said UC associate head coach Larry Davis, who filled in for head coach Mick Cronin in the post-game press conference because Cronin had family obligations. "He's a guy that's a great floater shooter, a great layup maker, that kind of stuff. So the whole mantra for us defensively was stay in front of him. His whole game is built on driving the ball."
The Bearcats were trailing, 10-9, early in the first half when they went on a 15-3 run to take a 24-13 lead with 10:07 to play. They made nine straight shots during that span while Houston was missing seven of eight.
UC led by 13 after Coreontae DeBerry's layup with 9:20 to go, but didn't convert another field goal until Johnson connected on a 3-pointer with 2:49 to go. The Bearcats then scored seven straight points to go on top, 39-24, their largest lead of the half, before settling for a 39-27 lead at halftime.
The Bearcats led for all but 3:49 of the game, but as was the case in their last two games, they had trouble holding onto the lead down the stretch. Against South Florida on Sunday, they held on to win by three despite scoring only one point in the final 10:07. Thanks to Johnson's 3-pointer, they didn't have to sweat so much this time.
"They made that little run at us and we made a run right back at them," Davis said. "This is the first time we made an offensive run run back at them and pushed it back out."
The Cougars probably wouldn't have gotten within three if it weren't for the 19 offensive rebounds they snared against UC. The Bearcats were out-rebounded, 40-38, overall, the first time this season that they have been out-rebounded.
"The reason was because their guards will run in and get a lot of rebounds," Ellis said. "Most teams we play against, guards usually don't do that. So we just had to adjust."
Johnson entered the game shooting 35.4 percent from the floor and averaging 6.0 points.
"I've just been trying to relax and help my team any way I can," Johnson said. "They gave me some good open looks. I had the chance to knock them down tonight and contribute to our victory."
If Johnson can continue to be such a force on offense, he could provide the Bearcats with another key piece as they try to build their NCAA Tournament resume.
"Kevin probably is our best defender," Davis said, "so it's good to be able to have him on the floor a little bit more. But you've got to be able to count on him on the offensive end in terms of not turning it over, taking good shots. When he plays that way on the offensive end then he's going to be a real factor on our team."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years -- 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer -- before joining the staff of Go.Bearcats.com in January, 2015. He has written a new book, a memoir titled, "I Can't Believe I Got Paid For This." The book is available on-line only at CrateSpace and Amazon.com.