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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
UNCASVILLE, Conn. - The University of Cincinnati Bearcats won't get to play top-ranked Duke in this tournament after all.
And make no mistake, even though the players didn't talk about it much before they left for the trip here, it was something they very much were looking forward to. It's only natural.
Instead, it will be No. 21 Rhode Island that gets a shot at the Blue Devils after knocking off No. 24 UC, 76-71, ony Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.
"We've very disappointed," said junior forward Kyle Washington. "We wanted to play Rhode Island, but we wanted to play Duke to show that we're a national contender. But it's a long season."
UC was led by Jacob Evans with 25 points. Washington had his second double-double in three games with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked four shots. Troy Caupain added 12 points and five assists.
The Bearcats (2-1) will play 2-2 Penn State, which lost to Duke, 78-68, at 3:30 p.m. Sunday after the Rams (4-0) and Blue Devils (3-1) play for the tournament championship.
UC scored the first eight points of the game and held an eight-to-10 point advantage throughout most of the first half, limiting the Rams to 38.7 shooting while shooting a blistering 54.2 percent, including five of nine from long range. The Bearcats held an early rebounding lead of 14-4, but ended up getting out-rebounded by nine.
It was that lack of physical toughness that UC coach Mick Cronin pointed to as the reason for the loss.
"They were the tougher team," Cronin said. "They wanted this game more. Pat Riley said a long time ago that in a hard-fought battle what happens when the ball is on the floor or in the air decides victory and that's what happened today.
"It's early. We had breakdowns. Nobody plays a perfect game. They didn't play perfect and we didn't play perfect. But when the ball was on the floor and in the air Rhode Island wanted the ball more than our team and that's what happened. They taught us a lot about ourselves and our physical deficiencies with physical and mental toughness."
UC led, 46-35, after two free throws by Washington early in the second half. The Rams then scored eight straight points, six coming on 3-pointers by Jared Terrell, to make it 46-43. URI extended its run to 12 points and took its first lead, 47-46, on a goal-tending call against UC with 14:40 left in the second half that awarded a basket to Cyril Langevine.
A Washington basket stopped the Rams' run. The Bearcats then scored six straight points to go back on top, 54-49. But URI came right back to tie the score at 56-56. With the score still tied at 58-58, URI scored five straight points to take a 63-58 lead with 6:47 to play. Two free throws by Evans made it 66-65, URI, with 2:55 to play.
E.C. Matthews then buried a three and after Washington forced a bad shot Hassan Martin made a layup to put the Rams ahead, 71-65, with 1:52 to play. Evans answered with a 3-point play off a follow shot, then was fouled as he drove the lane, but made only one of two free throws. That made it, 71-69, URI with 48.7 seconds to play.
The Rams called timeout with 38.3 seconds remaining. They had six seconds left on the shot clock after Gary Clark blocked a shot out of bounds, but got the ball to Matthews, who made a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to put URI ahead, 74-69, with 21 seconds remaining. Caupain made a quick layup for UC, then fouled Kuran Iverson with 14.6 seconds left. Iverson made one of two free throws to make it 75-71.
UC shot only 33.3 percent in the second half to finish at 42.6 percent for the game. URI was just the opposite, shooting 38.7 percent in the first half and 51.9 in the second. The Rams, who were led by Matthews' 18 points and placed four players in double figures, made six of eight from long range in the second half.
"We picked up our defense in the second half," said URI coach Dan Hurley. "They were shooting an incredibly high percentage (in the first half), which is not exactly what they do. I just thought we scrambled better in the second half. We had more energy."
He would get no argument from Cronin, who said for the first time that he has been concerned by his players' lack of toughness since practice began. That's out of character for a Cincinnati program that has based its reputation on physical toughness under Cronin and before that under Bob Huggins.
"I know what it says on our chest," Cronin said, "but just because the guys before you rebounded the ball and played with a lot of physicality doesn't mean that you do just because you put the jersey on. I knew it was coming. I told our team before the game if we don't get out-rebounded we'll win. And I still believe that."
Asked how it makes the players feel when they hear Cronin say they're not up to the standards set by other UC teams in that area, Evans was almost contrite in accepting the criticism.
"No one likes to hear that," he said. "We don't come out and not play hard on purpose. It's just something that we've got to have the instinct in us. I hope that this is a learning point for us in the season."
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.