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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI - There's little question that this University of Cincinnati basketball team is the most balanced in the Mick Cronin coaching era.
But even as the offense improved, Cronin continued to see a few missing elements from his teams of the past: these Bearcats weren't as fierce on the glass as those teams and they didn't defend as well. If they could ever pair the offensive improvement with the trademarks of past UC teams, Cronin said, they might really have something.
Little did he know the Bearcats would pick the Crosstown Shootout to put it all together.
Not only did No. 19 UC shoot 50 percent from the field and put five players in double figures, they dominated Xavier, 42-33, on the glass, and outscored the Musketeers, 30-4, in second chance points to post a come-from-behind 86-78 victory Thursday night before a record Fifth Third Arena crowd of 13,477, ending Xavier's three-game winning streak in the Shootout.
The Musketeers have never won four in a row in the rivalry that started in 1928. UC, which had lost seven of the previous nine games against Xavier, leads the series, 50-34.
"It was evident that we were getting punked on the glass," said Xavier forward Trevon Bluiett, who scored a career-high 40 points and was unstoppable in the first half. "At the end of the day, that's what really cost us. We're typically a team that's strong on the glass, so to see a thing that we're good at be put to shame pretty much is just kind of disappointing."
UC (18-2) extended its winning streak to 11 games overall. The Bearcats have won 20 straight at home. No. 24 Xavier (14-6) lost for the fourth time in the last five games. The Musketeers had been 8-0 in the Shootout when they were ranked.
Jacob Evans led the Bearcats with 21 points. Senior point guard Troy Caupain scored 16, forward Gary Clark had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Kyle Washington scored 12 points with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman guard Jarron Cumberland, from nearby Wilmington High School, came off the bench to score 15 points, 13 in the second half when the Bearcats were making their comeback. UC managed to win despite making only 18 of 37 from the line while Xavier was making 19 of 23.
The victory enabled UC's three seniors - Caupain, shooting guard Kevin Johnson and walk-on forward Zack Tobler - to avoid becoming the first UC seniors to graduate without beating Xavier at least once. It was the last Shootout played at Fifth Third Arena before its renovation, which will begin immediately after the season ends.
"This is a great feeling," Caupain said. "I wish I was able to have more from my freshman year to now, but I'm not going to look back in the past. I'm going to enjoy this one because this one feels really good, especially on our home court, the last time at Fifth Third for both teams before the new one. I'm ready to jump out of my chair for real."
For awhile, it appeared as if the Musketeers, who led by eight at halftime, were going to continue their recent dominance over the Bearcats, mainly because of Bluiett's incredible performance. He scored 26 points in the first half and didn't miss a shot until the 14:07 mark of the second half. By then, he already had 32 points. He finished the game going 12 for 15 from the field, 9 of 11 from 3-point range.
"He got in a groove early," Evans said. "He's a good shooter if you let him get started early with a couple of easy ones. In the first half, we felt like we gave him some easy ones, some corner open ones and some top of the key ones. We had to make sure we didn't leave him (in the second half)."
Xavier shot 53.8 percent in the first half and made 10 of 15 from 3-point range, but shot only 26.7 in the second half when it was outscored, 50-34.
"We didn't really make any adjustments at halftime except to try to play a whole lot harder on defense," Cronin said. "We don't see guys make the shots that Bluiett was making on us every night. You're not always going to be able to overcome a team making 15 threes, but I've got to give my players a lot of credit. They did what they had to do to win the game in a lot of different ways."
The biggest difference was on the glass where the Bearcats rebounded like it was 1999. Clark, who did not score in UC's loss to Xavier last year while taking only two shots, was determined to be more involved this time and came out demanding the ball in the low post.
"As we were prepping this week, Coach was constantly reminding us how physical they were and how many times I didn't touch the ball (last year)," Clark said, "so I just wanted to try to catch it on the low block and if they didn't come trap or dig hard enough to go and score."
UC took its first lead of the second half on a Cumberland 3-pointer with 12:28 to go and led, 62-56, on two Caupain free throws with 9:52 remaining. The Bearcats increased their lead to nine - their largest lead of the game - on a Cumberland 3-point play, but Xavier came back to get within one on Bluiett's layup with 3:30 left.
With the Bearcats holding onto an 81-77 lead, Caupain all but sealed the win with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 59 seconds left. The ball hit the rim, then rolled through the net to make it 84-77. Xavier's winning streak was about to become a memory.
"If you can't keep Cincinnati off the glass, which is easier said than done, you're not winning," said Xavier coach Chris Mack. "We couldn't and we didn't."
And so for the first time since Dec. 19, 2012, the Bearcats were able to enjoy a win over their crosstown rivals. They made the most of it by joining the student section to celebrate.
"It's big to beat the kids across the street," Clark said. "Growing up, you always had those kids that you wanted to get your guys and go against their guys."
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.