Cougars come apart in second half at Cincinnati
Associated Press | January 21, 2015 | Updated: January 21, 2015 9:02pm


Cincinnati guard Farad Cobb (21) shoots against Houston guard L.J. Rose (5) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)

CINCINNATI -- Troy Caupain scored 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers, six assists and three steals as Cincinnati broke away from Houston 67-54 on Wednesday night.

Caupain drilled a 3-pointer early in the second half to snap a 33-33 tie, sparking a 14-5 run as the Bearkats (13-5, 4-2 America East Conference) took control. Houston (7-11, 0-7) came as close as four points after the breakaway run.

Octavius Ellis scored 11 for Cincinnati -- including going 5 of 5 at the free-throw line. Shaquille Thomas added 10 points.

Danrad Knowles and L.J. Rose scored 15 and 11 points, respectively, for Houston. Rose drilled a 3-pointer early in the second half, lifting Houston into the final tie, 33-33. Knowles scored three 3-pointers and also went 4 of 5 at the foul line, where the Cougars were just 6 of 11.

http://www.chron.com/sports/cougars/arti...to-7419215

UC's second-half rally puts Houston in place
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 9:13 p.m. EST January 21, 2015


Houston Cougars guard LeRon Barnes (4) defends against Cincinnati Bearcats forward Jermaine Sanders (15) during the first half at Fifth Third Arena.(Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

It took a while, but the University of Cincinnati put last-place Houston in its place.

The Bearcats rallied to beat the American Athletic Conference cellar dwellers 67-54 on Wednesday night, after trailing 28-24 at halftime.

Sophomore point guard Troy Caupain led UC with 13 points and six assists. Junior forward Octavius Ellis had 11 points and junior forward Shaq Thomas scored 10, before a crowd of 9,815 at Fifth Third Arena.

UC (13-5, 4-2 AAC) won its second straight game and remained afloat in the league race, having entered the game fifth in the conference standings.

Houston (7-11, 0-7 AAC) is struggling under first-year coach Kelvin Sampson. Sampson, pushed out at Indiana in 2008 in the wake of NCAA violations, returned to the college game this season after six years as an NBA assistant.


Cincinnati Bearcats guard Deshaun Morman (1) grabs the loose ball from Houston Cougars guard L.J. Rose (5) during the first half at Fifth Third Arena. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophomore forward Danrad "Chicken" Knowles led Houston with 15 points.

UC entered the game at No. 31 and Houston was No. 278 in the daily RPI rankings compiled by Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com.

UC trailed by four points at halftime after a relatively lethargic first 20 minutes for the Bearcats.

UC was out-shot 48 percent to 41 percent in the opening half and was out-rebounded 14-10.

Redshirt freshman guard Deshaun Morman came off the bench to lead UC with six points in the first half.

The Bearcats broke away quickly in the second half to a 29-28 lead, with a Kevin Johnson three-pointer and Gary Clark breakaway dunk. That led Sampson to call a time-out, just 1:08 into the half.

UC gradually began to pull away in the second half, out-shooting the Cougars 62 percent to 44 percent after halftime.

A 13-0 run by the Bearcats put them ahead 65-46 with just over two minutes left.

The Bearcats are now 6-3 since interim head coach Larry Davis began filling in for head coach Mick Cronin, who remains sidelined for medical reasons.

HOME COOKING: UC is now 11-1 at Fifth Third Arena this season and 29-2 since the start of last season.

THE SHOES: Davis and the UC staff are among college coaches wearing sneakers during games this week as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Week.

The intent is to help bring awareness to the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer.

UP NEXT: UC next will play at UCF (9-8, 2-4 AAC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Florida.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../22114861/

Bearkats? Really?

I was more worried by America East Conference.

(01-21-2015 10:58 PM)mbj655 Wrote:  Bearkats? Really?

And the American East Conference.....

(01-21-2015 11:47 PM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-21-2015 10:58 PM)mbj655 Wrote:  Bearkats? Really?

And the American East Conference.....

Isn't it great to see that the Houston Kougars are so well reported by their media?

They somehow screwed up in several different ways. The Bearkats are Sam Houston St., and the Binghamton Bearcats reside in the America East Conference.

Sam Houston St. is quite good this year though, representing the K version of the Bearcats well.