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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – After he missed two free throws that could have sealed the win for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats with 7.2 seconds left in overtime, Justin Jenifer was left with only one way to compensate – with defense.
So that's what he did, crowding Connecticut's Christian Vital on the sideline as Vital maneuvered for a shot that could have won the game or sent it into a second overtime. Vital reacted by pushing Jenifer away to create space for himself, only to be called for an offensive foul with 1.5 seconds, securing UC's shaky 74-72 victory before 11,365 fans Saturday night at Fifth Third Arena.
"He did what he does best," UC center Nysier Brooks said of Jenifer. "He got in front of him and he sacrificed his body for the team."
UC (14-3 overall, 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference) led by 11 with 12:44 to go in regulation but was unable to close the deal. The Bearcats have won their last six games against UConn, which falls to 10-7, 1-3.
It was the first time since the 1966-67 season that the Bearcats won back-to-back overtime games. They won Thursday night in overtime 70-65 at Tulsa.
"We started conference play," said junior guard Jarron Cumberland. "It's going to be tough games. Everybody's going to fight to the end."
UC coach Mick Cronin was relieved to have the win, but wasn't pleased by the way his players went about it. And he certainly didn't think his players fought to the end.
"We get out-rebounded by eight in your own gym," Cronin said. "You don't play smart and you're not the more physical team. It's embarrassing. I don't think there's medicine for what our problem is. You either get the job done or you don't. We do too much talking."
UC was out-rebounded 38-30 – the second straight game in which it was out-rebounded - allowed UConn to make 11 of 27 from three-point range and made only one field goal in the final 9:49 of regulation, but still managed to win on the strength of 25 free throws in 38 attempts to 13 of 16 for the Huskies.
Cumberland led UC with 22 points, including 11 of 12 from the free throw line. Brooks added 17, Jenifer scored 13, and Keith Williams scored 11 for the Bearcats. Alterique Gilbert scored 18 to lead the Huskies.
UC led by one in regulation, 61-60, when Cane Broome stepped to the line to shoot two free throws with 10.2 seconds left. He made the first, but missed the second. The Bearcats used the two fouls they had to give to get the clock down to 4.5 seconds only to see Gilbert drive the lane and make a layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
With the score tied 65-65 in overtime, UC's Brooks dunked on an assist from Trevon Scott to give UC the lead for good. After a missed three-pointer by UConn's Gilbert, Jenifer drilled a three-pointer to give the Bearcats a 70-65 lead with 1:21 remaining.
With the Bearcats leading 74-69, the Huskies used a three-point play by Gilbert, who was inexplicably fouled by Scott while making a layup, to make it 74-72 with 11.7 seconds left. UConn then fouled Jenifer, who missed both of his free throws.
The Bearcats led by one at halftime after falling behind by eight early in the game. They began to pull away in the second half, but every time it appeared they would put the Huskies away, UConn came back, usually on the strength of its three-point shooting.
"We are going to kick ourselves when we see the edit, some of the missed opportunities there," said Dan Hurley, UConn's first-year head coach. "Listen, there are no moral victories at UConn, but when you're in the first year, (considering) where this program has been and where we're trying to get it to…"
Cronin made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with his team's performance.
"There's so many things I can tell you," he said. "We've got three fouls to give, we're supposed to be pressuring the ball and be aggressive so they can't shoot a three with a five-point lead. We back up and let them shoot a three.
"I worry about things that we can control," he said, "playing smart, playing hard, being physical. I'm never going to come to a press conference and be happy when we don't even know who can shoot and who can't. We don't want to finish games. We just want to flash our Cincinnati badge and they think that they're just going to run away. Maybe they'll learn eventually."
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.