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By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
PHILADELPHIA - After three two-point losses that were decided in the closing seconds, it seemed reasonable to expect that the University of Cincinnati Bearcats had already absorbed their share of heart-breaking defeats for one season.
But the pain keeps flaring up.
The most crushing defeat of them all occurred Saturday afternoon before 7,481 fans at Liacouras Center when UC lost to Temple, 67-65, in double overtime. The Bearcats wiped out an eight-point deficit with 6:46 left in regulation to send the game into overtime and had a three-point lead in the second overtime with 1:58 left, but couldn't put the Owls away.
"It comes down to the last couple of plays of the game if it's not a blowout," said UC point guard Troy Caupain. "Getting that one extra rebound or getting that one stop or making that one free throw. It comes down to something little. That's what we haven't figured out yet."
After Temple scored what would become the winning points on a follow shot by Jaylen Bond, the Bearcats had the ball with 15 seconds left and called timeout to set up what could have been a game-tying shot. But Caupain turned the ball over with six seconds remaining, essentially sealing the victory for Temple.
"It was supposed to be a curl in the lane there and make a play," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "I feel bad for him. It's not like he tried to make a bad play. He made a lot of plays that if he wouldn't have made we wouldn't have been in the position we were in."
Temple's Josh Brown missed two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to keep the Bearcats' slim hopes flickering, but Caupain's desperation shot at the buzzer was way off the mark.
The loss was the Bearcats' second of the season to Temple and their third straight overall to the Owls. At 13-6 overall, 3-3 in the American Athletic Conference, UC has placed itself in a precarious position in its quest for a sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Temple, coming off a two-point loss of its own to Memphis, is 9-7, 4-2.
Caupain and Octavius Ellis each scored 14 points to lead UC. Gary Clark registered his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds, which tied his season high. Quenton DeCosey scored 22 to lead Temple and Devin Coleman added 15, making five of 10 shots from 3-point range.
One of Coleman's treys was a backbreaker for the Bearcats. UC led, 65-62, with 1:58 to play in the second overtime after two free throws by Caupain when Coleman buried a trey that tied the score at 65-65 with 1:31 to go.
"We lost Devin Coleman one too many times," Cronin said. "A three-point lead and Troy let him shoot a three. That's probably the most egregious error of the night that hurt us the most."
The Bearcats had a chance to reclaim the lead but Caupain's attempted layup was blocked by DeCosey. Clark rebounded to set up Farad Cobb for a 3-point shot that was no good. DeCosey rebounded for Temple with 53 seconds left.
On the Owls' next possession, it looked as if UC was going to get the stop it needed when Obi Enechionyia fired up a desperation 3-point shot just before the shot clock expired. The ball barely nicked the rim and fell into the hands of Bond, who laid it in with 16 seconds remaining.
"We got the wrong bounce there at the wrong time," Cronin said.
UC called timeout to set up a play for Caupain, who drove to the basket, then whirled and threw a pass behind him intended for Farad Cobb only to see the ball sail into the backcourt.
"I came off the curl," Caupain said. "Their man helped down and attacked off the pass. I thought I saw Farad out of the corner of my eye, but he wasn't there."
For the Bearcats, it was another instance of failing to execute effectively in the closing minutes with the game on the line.
"It was kind of like the same thing over and over again," Clark said. "We give them easy money right when we have them right where we need them to be."
UC out-rebounded Temple, 56-47, and limited the Owls to 34.2 percent shooting. But the Bearcats committed 16 turnovers - 10 in the first half - that led to 17 Temple points. They shot 37.1 percent from the field and made only one of 18 3-point shots while the Owls were making seven of 24.
"It makes it hard," Cronin said. "It's just like baseball. You've got to throw shutouts if you can't score at times. misWe can't do much more than we're doing on the defensive end."
Caupain's up-and-down day, which started with him getting into early foul trouble and playing only four minutes in the first half, also included a tip-in of his own missed shot with 11 seconds left that tied the score at 56-56 with 11 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into overtime after DeCosey failed to convert a layup and Bond missed a tip-in.
The Bearcats had a chance to win in the first overtime. With 10 seconds left, Bond made the first of two free throws but missed the second, leaving the score tied at 60-60. Caupain then missed a jump shot with two seconds left. Coreontae DeBerry rebounded for UC but was unable to make the follow shot amid heavy traffic.
It must be tempting at this point for the UC players to bemoan their fate and focus on the close games that got away from them. But Cronin said that's not the right approach.
"I want our kids focused on how we're playing," Cronin said. "You can't focus on results. We played as hard as we could play today. We had a few breakdowns. We've got to quit turning the ball over and we've got to obviously make some shots
"But as a coach, you talk about just stay together, play to win, be unselfish. The kids are doing all of that. Anybody watching us play (can see) the guys are giving everything they've got. That's all you can ask as a coach and then you just try to clean up execution and get guys in situations to be more effective and get more points."
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 CreateSpace and Amazon.com.