UC Bearcats hammer St. John's at Madison Square Garden


Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
Bearcats guard Sean Kilpatrick passes to guard JaQuon Parker, leading to a first-half bucket.

Written by
Bill Koch

NEW YORK – The University of Cincinnati Bearcats got the payback they were looking for Wednesday night when they dominated St. John’s,76-54, at Madison Square Garden in one of their most impressive performances of the season.

Sophomore guard Sean Kilpatrick and senior forward Yancy Gates each scored 14 points to lead UC. Point guard Cashmere Wright had his second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

UC (17-7 overall, 7-4 in the Big East) won its second straight game after losing three in a row. St. John’s (10-14, 4-8) started five freshmen for the fifth straight game.

The margin of victory was the largest of the season for UC in a Big East game. The Bearcats limited the Red Storm to 32.8 percent shooting, while out-rebounding it, 49-29. D’Angelo Harrison led St. John’s with 15 points.

The 54 points for the Red Storm were the fewest by a Big East opponent against UC this season.

The Bearcats, who lost by two points to St. John’s at Fifth Third Arena on Jan. 7, played one of their best first halves of the season, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Red Storm, 26-16, to take a 30-19 lead. The UC defense held St. John’s to 28.1 percent shooting in that half.

UC coach Mick Cronin started JaQuon Parker in place of Justin Jackson for the second straight game. Cronin, who talked earlier in the week about looking for more depth, used 10 different players in the first half.

After St. John’s Amir Garrett’s basket tied the score at 13-13 with 8:51 left in the half, the Bearcats outscored the Red Storm, 17-6, the rest of the half, getting five points from Gates during that span. Dion Dixon scored 10 points to lead UC in the first half, but did not score again the rest of the game.

UC got on the board first in the second half on a basket by Wright, but then St. John’s scored five straight points to cut the Bearcats’ lead to eight, prompting Cronin to call timeout.

After the timeout, UC outscored the Red Storm, 18-6, to take a 50-30 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. Kilpatrick came alive offensively during that spurt. After being held to three points in the first half, he scored 10 straight as the Bearcats pulled away.

The Bearcats play at No. 18 Marquette on Saturday in Milwaukee.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...eakingnews

Cincinnati beats St. John's 76-54

Last Updated: 9:29 PM, February 8, 2012

Sean Kilpatrick scored 10 of his 14 points in the opening 5 minutes of the second half and Cincinnati went on to a 76-54 victory over St. John's on Wednesday night.

The blowout win by the Bearcats (17-7, 7-4 Big East) ended a string of four straight games between the teams that ended with two-point margins, including St. John's 57-55 win at Cincinnati on Jan. 7.

Kilpatrick, the Bearcats' leading scorer with a 15.4 average, scored 10 straight points as part of a 12-3 run that gave Cincinnati a 44-27 lead with 15:26 to play. He had eight rebounds.

Yancy Gates had 14 points and nine rebounds and Cashmere Wright had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bearcats, who finished with a 49-29 rebound advantage.

D'Angelo Harrison had 15 points to lead the Red Storm (10-14, 4-8), who have lost three of four and dropped to 2-7 this season at Madison Square Garden. They were coming off a 95-70 home loss to No. 2 Syracuse. Moe Harkless, who came into the game as the No. 2 freshman scorer (16.2) and rebounder (8.7) in the Big East, finished with a season-low six points on 2-of-8 shooting. His previous low was eight points against No. 1 Kentucky.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/b...w322i8wK0M

Bill Koch knows absolutely nothing about basketball strategy. But he sure knows statistics, though I was stunned to see he didn't give the attendance figure.

(02-08-2012 11:42 PM)BearcatBeta Wrote:  Bill Koch knows absolutely nothing about basketball strategy. But he sure knows statistics, though I was stunned to see he didn't give the attendance figure.

It wasn't at the Shoe and Mick or Whit didn't furnish them.

(02-08-2012 11:42 PM)BearcatBeta Wrote:  Bill Koch knows absolutely nothing about basketball strategy. But he sure knows statistics, though I was stunned to see he didn't give the attendance figure.

He usually only gives attendance at UC home games...his way of secretly rubbing it in.

UC 76, St. John’s 54 – summary
02/08/12 at 7:51pm by bkoch

Player of the game: Sean Kilpatrick, who grew up in nearby White Plains, N.Y., returned home to score 14 points and pull down eight rebounds with four assists, but he had plenty of help from Yancy Gates (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Cashmere Wright (12 points, a career high 10 rebounds), who picked up his second career double-double.

Turning point: UC led by eight when Kilpatrick scored 10 straight points as part of an 18-6 run that put the game away midway through the second half.

Records: UC 17-7 overall, 7-4 in the Big East; St. John’s 10-14, 4-8.

Quotes:

Cashmere Wright – “I felt like in the last game ( a 2-point loss to St. John’s) we came out thinking we were going to win instead of playing like we were going to win.”

Mick Cronin - “Our attitude was much different. We were too overconfident the last time and they outplayed us. Tonight we were the better team.”

Sean Kilpatrick – “We executed more and we rebounded a lot more and played defense. We tried our hardest to shut their two main scorers down and I think we did a pretty good job with that.”

Notes: UC won its second in a row after losing three in a row…St. John’s played without junior guard Malik Stith, who abruptly resigned from the team, leaving the Red Storm with a 6-man rotation…The margin of victory was the largest for UC in a conferenc game this season…UC’s 51.7 percent shooting was its best in the Big East this season. The Bearcats shot 57.6 percent in the second half.

Up next: UC plays Saturday at No. 18 Marquette. St. John’s plays Sunday at No. 12 Georgetown.

http://news.cincinnati.com/ucblog