FINAL: Cincinnati 66, Purdue 65
Nathan Baird, nbaird@jconline.com 9:49 p.m. EDT March 19, 2015
The Boilermakers played their first NCAA tournament game since 2012.


Purdue center Isaac Haas (44) looks to shoot against Cincinnati during the first half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center.(Photo: Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports)

LOUISVILLE — Purdue's proficient man-to-man defense led it back to the NCAA tournament.

The Boilermakers' offensive deficiencies ultimately sent the home.

A lack of 3-point shooting touch all night and free throw failures down the stretch prevented Purdue from puling away from Cincinnati in a Midwest Regional second round game at the KFC Yum! Center. That set the stage for the Bearcats' comeback from a seven-point deficit in the final 50 seconds of regulation, and their eventual 66-65 victory.

The loss snapped Purdue's streak of 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances with at least one victory.

Cincinnati's Coreontae DeBerry scored off an offensive rebound with 3:10 left in overtime to five the Bearcats the lead for good.

On an otherwise brutal shooting night for Purdue, freshman forward Vince Edwards hit a 3 with 2:47 left in regulation for a 51-49 lead. Prior to that, the Boilermakers were 2 of 20 on 3-pointers.

After a defensive stop, fellow freshman Dakota Mathias hit another 3 with 7 seconds left on the shot clock. Octeus hit a pair of free throws to put Purdue up 56-49 with 48.5 left.

But Cincinnati's Kevin Johnson responded with a 3 at the other end. In less than 10 seconds, the Bearcats cut the Purdue lead back to 3.

Purdue senior Jon Octeus missed the front end of a one-and-one with 25.5 left, and the front end of a double-bonus with 7.4 left. He made the second for a 59-57 lead.

Cincinnati's Troy Caupain drove the length of the floor for a layup that sat on the rim for a couple of beats before falling through as the buzzer sounded to tie the game.

The Boilermakers' season ended with another frustrating second half. Purdue led 29-26 at halftime but could never separate in the second half thanks in part to to poor shooting.

The Boilermakers also led at Ohio State and at Michigan State late in the regular season, and against Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, but lost all three games.

Cincinnati played the final 16:22 without junior forward Octavius Ellis, its leader in scoring, rebounds and blocks. He was ejected when his elbow to Hammons' face in the paint was ruled a Flagrant 2 foul. He covered his face with his jersey and left the court in tears.

But Purdue failed to take advantage of Ellis' absence, and never led by more than 5 points in the second half. Cincinnati eventually re-took the lead with 5:40 to play, and from there the teams traded the lead.

The game set up as a battle of two at times offensively challenged teams trying to solve each other's physical, disruptive defense.

With Edwards serving as the distributor at the top of the key, Purdue repeatedly moved the ball inside against the Bearcats' 2-3 matchup zone. By halftime the freshman forward had piled up five assists, and the Boilermakers scored 20 of their 29 first-half points in the paint.

Purdue went into halftime with a 29-26 lead despite foul trouble for star center A.J. Hammons. He picked up his second foul with 11:05 left. That forced freshman center Isaac Haas into an extended-minutes scenario, and he responded with six points and six rebounds.

http://www.jconline.com/story/sports/col.../25048209/

UC Bearcats top Purdue in overtime in NCAA tournament
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 10 p.m. EDT March 19, 2015


Bearcats associate head coach Larry Davis shouts instructions to the team during the first half Thursday night against Purdue in Louisville. (Photo: The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No more one-and-done for the Cincinnati Bearcats, who rallied to beat Purdue 66-65 in overtime in their NCAA basketball tournament opener here Thursday night at KFC Yum! Center.


Bearcats forward Jermaine Sanders pokes the ball during the first half Thursday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.(Photo: The Enquirer/Kareem Elgazzar)

No. 8 Midwest seed UC (23-10) had not won an NCAA tourney game since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012. The Bearcats lost their first tournament games in 2014 (Harvard) and 2013 (Creighton).

UC trailed by seven points with 48.5 seconds left in regulation before coming back to force OT at 59-59.

Junior guard Farad Cobb led UC with 14 points and junior center Coreontae DeBerry came off the bench for a career high 13 points for the Bearcats. Sophomore point guard Troy Cauapin scored 10 for UC and freshman forward Gary Clark had nine points and 12 rebounds.

UC is expected to face No. 1 seed Kentucky in the third round Saturday. UK was playing No. 16 seed Hampton in Thursday's late game in Louisville.

Purdue featured two massive 7-footers in top scorer A.J. Hammons (7-foot, 261-pound junior, team high 11.8 ppg) and Isaac Haas (7-2, 297-pound freshman, 7.6 ppg), with Haas coming off the bench.

Hammons led Purdue with 17 points and forward Vince Edwards (Middletown High School) had 14.

UC suffered a huge loss when 6-10 junior forward Octavius Ellis, the team's tallest man and leading scorer (10.0 ppg), was ejected with 16:22 left and UC down 32-30.

Ellis threw a forearm at Purdue's 7-foot A.J. Hammons, and the Flagrant 2 foul resulted him being tossed. It was the third time Ellis has been ejected this year.

With Ellis gone, that left 6-9, 275-pound junior DeBerry as the main size against Purdue's 7-footers Hammons and Haas. And DeBerry came through, leading UC with four points in overtime.

Purdue had won its initial game in the NCAA tournament for its past 14 trips, dating back to 1994.

UC is appearing in its fifth straight NCAA tournament. Purdue was back for the first time since 2012.

Both teams entered with outstanding defensive resumes, with UC holding opponents to just 39.0 percent shooting and Purdue to 39.3 percent. UC shot 41 percent and Purdue 36 percent Thursday.

UC's plan was to try to push the ball offensively and use its speed to negate some of Purdue's interior size, and perhaps pick up more points in transition.

Defensively, the Bearcats hoped to make Purdue shoot jump shots and make it difficult to work the ball inside.

UC mostly played its trademark matchup zones against Purdue, trying to clog the lane. The Bearcats have played more man-to-man late in the season, but Purdue has not seen much zone defense in the Big Ten.

FIRST HALF: UC trailed 29-26 at halftime, with Cobb leading the Bearcats with 10 points.

The Bearcats led by as much as four points and Purdue by as much as five points in the first half.

UC was outscored 20-8 in the paint before halftime, with two dunks apiece by Purdue 7-footers Hammons and Haas.

UC was trying to take the ball inside and did draw two early fouls on Hammons, who played only five minutes in the first half. But Purdue compensated with its other 7-footer Haas, who scored six points before halftime. Haas finished with eight points.

THE FINISH: The game remained close throughout the second half, with Purdue ahead by slim margins much of the time.

Purdue seemed to gain some distance on a 3-pointer by Kendall Stephens with 9:20 left, for a 42-38 lead. But UC battled back for a 45-44 lead on a Kevin Johnson lay-in with 5:40 left.

Edwards hit a clutch 3-pointer to put Purdue ahead 51-49 with 2:40 left. Then, the Boilers' Dakota Mathias hit a 3 with 1:30 left to put Purdue up 54-49.

Two foul shots by Jon Octeus gave Purdue a 56-49 lead with 48.5 seconds left and seemed to seal the deal, but UC fought back with a 3 by Kevin Johnson and a conventional 3 by Caupain to draw within 56-55 with 39 seconds left.

Purdue's Hammons hit two foul shots to make it 58-55 with 37.5 seconds left. UC's Clark answered with a layup, to cut the Purdue lead to 58-57 with 29 seconds left.

Purdue's Octeus then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw situation with 25.5 seconds left. UC came down but made a turnover with 8.5 seconds left, as Caupain tried to find Thomas with a pass under the basket.

Octeus hit one of two free throws to put Purdue ahead with 7.4 seconds left, and UC had one last chance.

Caupain inbounded the ball, got it back, and drove the length of the court, spinning towards the basket and laying it in. The ball circled around the rim briefly before falling, tying it 59-59 and sending UC fans jumping out of their seats.

In overtime, DeBerry led UC with four points and the Bearcats fended off the Boilermakers. A last-ditch 3-point attempt by Purdue's Edwards bounced off the rim.

WHERE'S MICK: UC head coach Mick Cronin said Thursday he planned to watch the Purdue game on TV at the Bearcats' hotel.

Cronin remains sidelined for medical reasons, with associate head coach Larry Davis running UC from the bench.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../25018201/