UC rallies past Samford in second half
Tom Groeschen , tgroeschen@enquirer.com 10:52 p.m. EST November 23, 2016


A funny thing happened on the way to a potentially shocking upset for the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday night. They kept their poise, kept playing basketball and won comfortably over underdog Samford.

No panic. No screaming halftime eruption by coach Mick Cronin. Just follow the UC mantra of toughness, rebounding and defense, and all will be well.

And it was. UC trailed by 16 points in the first half, but the Bearcats rode both their maturity and physical superiority to a 70-55 comeback win. A home season-high crowd of 7,422 watched at Fifth Third Arena.

Cronin credited the fans for their role in the victory.

“I thought our home crowd, for the first time in a long time, maybe because we don’t trail by that much here, I thought they really helped our comeback,” Cronin said. “They stayed with the guys, and I thought they really tried to be a legitimate sixth man. That was nice to see, because obviously I do notice that stuff.”


Cronin might have blown his stack in his younger days, but he and his players kept their heads while Samford produced an astonishing 24-0 scoring binge in the first half. That put the Bearcats behind 33-17, but a late surge drew UC within 35-30 by halftime.

“That’s just basketball,” UC senior guard Kevin Johnson said, referring to the Samford run. “You’ve got to face adversity. We just had to get through it, calm down, figure out our defense and make some shots. Let the game play out the way it’s going to play out.”

Cronin began the game in his usual suit and tie, but the tie was gone when he emerged for the second half. A reporter later wondered if that had anything to do with Cronin’s halftime demeanor, but Cronin said it was for comfort’s sake.

“It’s warm in here,” Cronin said. “Being honest with you, in all seriousness. I can’t go nuts every day. I can’t do it. I’d like to watch (daughter) Sammi grow up. At some point they (players) have got to have the emotion and the energy and the toughness.”

So, no dressing down at halftime? No.

“I’m being dead serious,” Cronin said. “I can’t do it. It’s draining, and they’ll get sick of me doing it. You keep trying to win with jump shots, you’re going to lose games. Better worry about playing defense, rebounding and playing together.”

The Bearcats (4-1) saw junior forward Kyle Washington produce his fourth double-double in five games, with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Washington did it in just 22 minutes of play, having missed an extended stretch because of foul trouble.

“It was a good test for us,” Washington said. “We don’t have any cupcakes for our non-conference schedule, especially at home.”

Washington was part of a UC offensive mindset which changed after halftime.

After launching 14 3-point shots in the first half (making only three), UC went 1-for-6 from 3-point range after halftime. It did not matter, with UC taking the ball more to the basket. UC wound up with a 30-10 scoring edge on points in the paint.

UC also showed its physical dominance with a 10-1 edge in blocked shots, and 42-34 edge in rebounding.

Junior forward Gary Clark had 13 points and seven rebounds for UC. Sophomore wing Jacob Evans had 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Troy Caupain scored 7 points, leaving him 11 shy of 1,000 for his career.

STEPPING UP: UC received key contributions from some players who had not been scoring much.

Johnson (Summit Country Day) scored a season high 10 points. Johnson, who battled some illness recently, entered the game with only 10 points all season.

Freshman center Nysier Brooks came off the bench for 10 points, and they came during key minutes. Brooks entered the night with only three points all season, but filled in ably while Washington sat.

“I have to shout out Nysier Brooks, because he did a great job with his minutes tonight,” Washington said. “He really held it down. Another shout-out to Kev (Johnson) and Troy (Caupain), because they really held it down when I was out.”

RARE EVENT: The 16-point comeback was the second largest of the 11-year Cronin coaching era at UC. The Bearcats overcame a 17-point deficit at home against West Virginia to win 96-83 in overtime on Jan. 20, 2007.

WHAT HAPPENED?: Samford (2-2) went on its 24-0 blitz to build a lead of 33-17 in the first half. Samford did it mainly with the 3-point shot, hitting six of those during the run.

Samford, from Birmingham, Alabama, is picked by Southern Conference coaches to finish seventh in the 10-team league.

Samford was led by junior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson with 14 points. Freshman guard Triston Chambers had 12 points. Sophomore center Wyatt Walker had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Walker entered as the nation’s leader rebounder at 15.0 per game.

TURNING POINT: After Samford stunned the crowd with its 24-0 burst, Brooks finally stopped the onslaught with a lay-up. That brought the Bearcats back within 33-19.

UC players apparently had had enough, and finished the half on a 9-0 run of their own. UC then pounded Samford 40-20 after halftime.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../94347300/

Thanks ctip for posting these articles!

You're welcome. I thought I saw a need that wasn't being filled.

Outside of that 8-10 minute stretch in the first half UC looked pretty good again.

Can't let those type of runs happen though. Won't be able to come back like that against better competition.