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By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
DALLAS -- The quality road win the University of Cincinnati Bearcats needed so badly was there for the taking.
Despite the absence of starting center Octavius Ellis for most of the game due to foul trouble and a huge disparity in free throws, the Bearcats led by seven points with 3:40 left. And they had the ball out of bounds.
But thanks to poor decisions on offense, a defensive breakdown, and a failure to box-out on the defensive glass, the lead melted away in a hurry and the Bearcats fell to No. 15 SMU, 59-57, Thursday night before 6,971 fans at Moody Coliseum when Farad Cobb's would-be game-winning 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.
UC suffered its third two-point loss of the season to teams currently ranked among the top 18 teams in the country, leaving the Bearcats six points shy of being 14-2 and probably a top 15 team. Instead they're 11-5 overall, 1-2 in the American Athletic Conference, and facing an uphill climb to make their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
"It's beyond frustrating," said UC coach Mick Cronin.
UC was called for 20 fouls to nine for SMU and attempted four free throws to 19 for the Mustangs. SMU made only 10 of its foul shots, but that was more than it needed. The Bearcats didn't even attempt their first free throw until the 7:26 mark of the second half.
Cobb led UC with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. Gary Clark had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Troy Caupain scored nine points, all in the first half. SMU (14-0, 3-0) was led by Ben Moore with 15 points and remained one of two unbeaten teams in the country. Moore was one of four Mustang players to score in double figures.
With 7:11 left in the first half and the scored tied, 21-21, there was a scrum on the floor under the SMU basket after Nic Moore was tied up with one second left on the shot clock. After the players were separated and following a lengthy discussion by the officials, SMU's Sterling Brown was ejected for leaving the bench when he wasn't in the game. UC's Coreontae DeBerry and SMU's Jordan Tolbert each was charged with a technical foul.
Things began to unravel for UC late in the game when Cobb missed a 3-pointer coming out of the last media timeout. That was mistake number one, according to Cronin.
"We took an ill-advised three with a seven-point lead," Cronin said. "We should have gone inside to Gary Clark."
SMU's Ben Moore then connected on a jump shot to reduce UC's lead to five. After a missed shot by Caupain, Nic Moore made a 3-pointer to make it 55-53 with 2:28 remaining. Moore made another 3-pointer with 1:16 left that gave the Mustangs a 56-55 lead, their first since the 16:19 mark of the second half. That was mistake number two for UC.
"We had a defensive breakdown with Troy and Farad when Nic Moore hit his three," Cronin said. "It's ridiculous. He's the best player in our league, the reigning player of the year in our league, and we let him circle around and shoot a three."
Ellis then made two free throws to give UC a 57-56 lead and the Bearcats appeared to get the defensive stop they needed when Nic Moore missed a 3-pointer, but Jordan Tolbert tipped in the missed shot to make it 58-57, SMU, with 28 seconds to play. Mistake number three.
"We can't get a defensive rebound with the game on the line," Cronin said. "We really struggle in that area. Right now Jacob Evans, a freshman, is our best defensive rebounder. That says a lot. It's a compliment to Jacob, but it's really an indictment of some other people. (Ellis) is in the game at the end and he gave up the defensive rebound with a one-point lead, lets a guy go right over his back and tip it in. We don't block out."
After the tip-in, Caupain drove the lane only to have his shot blocked by Tolbert with 13 seconds left. With eight seconds to play, UC fouled Ben Moore, who made one of two free throws to give the Mustangs a 59-57 lead, but he also left the door open for the Bearcats to send the game into overtime or win with a 3-pointer.
Clark rebounded the missed free throw and advanced the ball to Caupain, who passed to Cobb, but Cobb's 3-point shot from the wing was no good.
"That wasn't the play," Cobb said. "The play was that I was a decoy. The play was that (Caupain) was supposed to go all the way to the basket and try to get fouled."
And that was mistake number four.
"(Cobb) was put in a tough situation," Cronin said. "With eight seconds and you've got the full court, you've got to take the ball to the basket."
Aside from those mistakes, the Bearcats accomplished much of what they needed to do to win. They out-rebounded the Mustangs by one, even though SMU leads the American in rebounding margin at plus 13.7. They held the Mustangs to 59 points, their lowest total of the season, and 24 below their average. And they forced 17 turnovers. But UC shot only 37.7 percent from the field compared to 51.2 percent for SMU.
There were 11 lead changes and nine ties. The Bearcats' margin was usually small, but they led for nearly 26 minutes, while SMU led for only 5:49. Once again, though, they were unable to seal the deal.
"We don't make the right plays down the stretch," Cobb said. "It's been that way all year."
Bill Koch covered UC Athletics for 27 years - 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer - before joining the staff of GoBEARCATS.com in January, 2015 as featured columnist. Follow him on Twitter @bkoch. He has written a new book, a memoir titled, "I Can't Believe I Got Paid For This." The book is available online only at createspace.com and amazon.com.