Bearcats contain UCF, earn road win in Orlando
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 7:52 p.m. EST January 25, 2015


Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain controls the ball during the first half against the Houston Cougars Jan. 21. Caupain scored nine against UCF in Orlando Jan. 25. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Cincinnati Bearcats were not exactly facing Duke and the Cameron Crazies here Sunday, but UC nonetheless survived a hostile atmosphere and beat Central Florida 56-46.

Attendance was only 3,874 in 9,500-seat CFE Arena, but a vocal student section and UC's recent road struggles were among things the Bearcats had to overcome.

"My daughter was here and I told her and her husband, we were sitting at breakfast, I'll take a one-point nail-biter right this minute if you tell me we were going to get the win," UC associate head coach Larry Davis said.

Sophomore shooting guard Kevin Johnson led UC with 13 points, including a key steal and two subsequent foul shots to put UC ahead 52-46 with 36.7 seconds left.

UC (14-5, 5-2 American Athletic Conference) has won three straight games, and the Bearcats also snapped a two-game AAC road losing streak.

"We needed this big road win, our first one in conference," Johnson said. "UCF gave us a tough game. That's a tough team, they've definitely improved since last year."

UCF (9-10, 2-6 AAC) played much of the game without scoring leader B.J. Taylor (14.8 ppg), a freshman guard who had two points before leaving in the first half with concussion symptoms. Senior forward Kasey Wilson led UCF with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Sophomore point guard Troy Caupain had nine points for UC, and junior forward Octavius Ellis had eight points and 10 rebounds. UC took a 29-24 halftime lead and led for the rest of the game.

UC shot only 40.4 percent from the field but held UCF to 32.7 percent shooting with its pressing matchup zone. UC also won the rebounding 33-31, and had only nine turnovers to UCF's 12.

"We had some looks we didn't make, and give Cincinnati credit," UCF coach Donnie Jones said. "Their defense is difficult to play against, and it's something you can't create in our practices because no one plays that way. It gets your guys standing around, and that's what was really hard for us."

UCF did not score for the final 4:37 of the game, as UC pushed a 50-46 lead to 56-46 with six late free throws (four by Johnson, two by Caupain).

"We weren't hitting shots, and the only way you win games if you're not hitting shots is defensive stops and rebounding," Caupain said. "That was a big thing we focused on."

"We've played in a lot of places that were loud, but that really hasn't affected us," Caupain said. "The main thing that affected us is that we weren't making shots. To win games big, you need to make shots."

DEPTH WINS: UC brought 10 scholarship players to the game and all scored, as depth continues to be the Bearcats' greatest asset. UC entered the game with Caupain (9.9 ppg) as its leading scorer.

AAC RACE: UC at 5-2 is third in the AAC behind Tulsa (7-0) and SMU (7-1). SMU's one league loss was to UC.

WINNING WAYS: The Bearcats are now 7-3 since Davis replaced head coach Mick Cronin, who remains sidelined for medical reasons.

"It was a struggle, but when you're on the road you've got to stay together and you've got to figure out a way to win somehow," Davis said. "We did just enough offensively to get the job done."

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../22190861/