TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
NASHVILLE – The game couldn't have started any better for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and it couldn't have ended any worse.
The Bearcats sprinted out to a 10-0 lead, increased their advantage to 27-10 less than eight minutes into the game, then built a seemingly insurmountable 22-point lead with 11:37 remaining in the second half.
Then it all came crashing down.
Just when it appeared that UC was on its way to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012, Nevada made its move. By the time the game ended with a scramble for the ball around the UC basket, the Wolf Pack had outscored the stunned Bearcats, 32-8, in the final 10:49 to emerge with an improbable 75-73 victory in the second round of the South Regional on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena in the second-largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history.
The loss was one of the most devastating in UC history, perhaps surpassed only by the 60-58 overtime loss to Loyola of Chicago in the 1963 national championship game. UC led in that game by 15 points early in the second half.
"Honestly, I thought we were going to win the whole time, no matter what was going to happen," said UC senior forward Kyle Washington. "Coach said no matter what was going to happen, we were going to win. I believed it. Everybody believed it."
The winning basket came on a follow shot by Nevada's Josh Hall with nine seconds left. After UC called timeout, Cane Broome dribbled down the floor, drove into the lane and appeared to have his shot blocked. But the official play-by-play listed it as a turnover, not a blocked shot, and Broome's description of the play seemed to back that up.
"We were trying to get it up the court and find whoever was open," said Broome, whose eyes were red as he sat in the UC locker room after the game. "When I got there I felt like everybody was covered, so I tried to get it to Gary (Clark) and it just didn't pan out. We were trying to get a shot up. I didn't want to force anything. I should have just went up with it."
Jacob Evans III led UC with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jarron Cumberland, who fouled out with 4:04 left, scored 17 points – 13 in the first half. Kyle Washington had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Clark finished his UC career with his fifth straight double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
UC finished 31-5, matching the school record for victories in a season. The Bearcats also won the American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles. But that's not what they had in mind when the season started.
"We accomplished small goals," Evans said, "the conference tournament, the regular-season conference title. But this is the big goal for us. We had a pretty good run this year. We won 30-plus games again. But at the end of the day, there's no more victories. When we come to Cincinnati, we prepare to win a championship every year and we fell short."
Cody Martin scored 25 to lead Nevada (29-7). He was one of five Wolf Pack players to score in double figures.
"Our guys did a great job until the last 10 minutes," said UC coach Mick Cronin, "when (Nevada) took the gamble and just started trapping Jacob. We got the deer-in-the-headlights look. The ball stopped dropping for us. We got fouled a lot of times and it wasn't called around the rim. And that got in our heads. It affected our defensive execution.
"But give credit to Nevada for the win. The game's never over, obviously, in the NCAA Tournament until the clock hits zero. Obviously I feel terrible for Jacob and Kyle in particular that are sitting here with me, and obviously for Gary Clark and all the guys. We've had an unbelievable season and I appreciate their attitude and effort."
After the Bearcats took a 65-43 lead on a Cumberland layup, the Wolf Pack reeled off 16 straight points to trim the deficit to six with 7:52 left. UC recovered to lift its lead back to eight, but Nevada kept coming.
Broome's two free throws with 2:39 left provided a little breathing room, but not enough. Jordan Caroline scored on a follow shot to get Nevada within three and Caleb Martin buried a three to tie the score at 73-73. Evans then tossed up a wild shot in the lane with 42 seconds left and Cody Martin rebounded for the Wolf Pack. He missed a shot at the other end, but Hall was there for the follow with nine seconds remaining. The Bearcats were unable to get off a shot on their last possession.
UC converted only one field goal in the final 5:45. That was a jump shot by Evans that gave the Bearcats a 71-63 lead.
Nevada committed only two turnovers, a school-record low for a UC opponent. The Bearcats out-rebounded Nevada, 44-33, and had 15 offensive rebounds to eight for the Wolf Pack, but two defensive rebounds the Bearcats failed to corral made a huge difference.
"They got two critical ones to tie the game and then to win the game," Clark said. "All we preach is rebounding and then to let two of them go in the last minute, it's heartbreaking."
Clark was on the floor in the middle of the scrum for the ball after Broome's pass was knocked away, desperately trying to come up with it to locate one last shot. When the final horn sounded, he remained on the floor, sprawled out in frustration, his remarkable UC career having to come to a shocking end.
One of only five players in UC history to score more than 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds, Clark was asked in the locker room about his legacy as a Bearcat.
"It doesn't mean anything now," Clark said. "My legacy would have been a national championship for my 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 GoBearcats.com in January 2015.