Cincinnati throttles Louisville from start 63-54
Fouls, contested threes slow U of L offense
10:07 PM, Feb. 16, 2011

Written by
C.L. Brown


Joseph Fuqua II/The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Yancy Gates (34) makes a layup against Louisville Russ Smith (24) in the first half. Cincinnati battles Louisville in a basketball game Wednesday February 16, 2011 at Fifth Third Arena.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin got the marquee win his team sorely needed, and the University of Louisville got knocked back into the Big East pack.

The No. 16 Cardinals (19-7, 8-5 Big East) never led and trailed by as many as 15 points before falling 63-54 before 11,511 at Fifth Third Arena. The loss dropped them into a four-way tie for fourth place after Connecticut's 78-70 win over Georgetown. The top four teams earn double byes in the league tournament.

While many have speculated the Big East could get as many as 11 teams into the NCAA Tournament, Cincinnati (20-6, 7-6) had a suspect resume with its best wins over Xavier and St. John's. Until now.

The Bearcats played like a team desperately trying to play their way out of tournament bubble conversations.

UC guard Cashmere Wright slashed his way to a game-high 20 points, most on drives to the basket.

Wright gave Cincinnati its biggest lead two baskets into the second half when he floated a teardrop over Terrence Jennings for a 41-26 advantage.

The Cards responded with their best spurt of the game to close the gap. Jennings got a dunk when Preston Knowles sliced through the Bearcats' defense to pull Yancy Gates off the 6-foot-9 forward. Jennings was the only U of L player in double figures with 14 points.

Peyton Siva was fouled while scoring his first basket at 15:07 and completed a three-point play. Knowles followed with a three-point basket — only the second for the Cards to that point — and Kyle Kuric capped a 12-2 run with a jumper that made the score 43-38.

They threatened to make it a one-possession game after Justin Jackson bricked two free throws, but Mike Marra missed one of the few open three-pointers the Bearcats allowed.

U of L coach Rick Pitino stuck with six players through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Cards expended so much energy getting back into the game that they had nothing left to complete the rally as they had done in so many other games this season.

Cincinnati used a 9-2 run to regain a comfortable 52-40 cushion.

Rakeem Buckles responded with a three-pointer, which marked the last time the Cards pulled within single digits until the game's final minute.

A combination of the Bearcats' defense and mounting foul trouble wrecked any chance the Cards had for offensive continuity in the first half.

Cincinnati reached the bonus 91/2 minutes into the game. Both Siva and Elisha Justice drew two early fouls and sat down. Siva played just seven minutes in the first half, was 0 for 2 and went without an assist.

Knowles was forced to finish out nearly the last five minutes of the half at point guard with both players on the bench.

But it hardly mattered who Pitino had at the point because the Bearcats did a solid job of taking away virtually everything the Cards wanted to do offensively. U of L entered the game ranked sixth nationally with 9.2 made three-pointers per game but was just 1 of 7 from three-point range in the first half and finished just 4 of 17.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, and the Bearcats held a one-rebound advantage. Cincinnati's 36-24 halftime lead was built at the foul line, where the Bearcats went 9 of 11 and the Cards were 1 of 2, both shot by Gorgui Dieng.

C.L. Brown can be reached at (502) 582-4044.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...ext|Sports