UC Bearcats withstand second-half Providence charge in 81-66 win


The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II
UC's Cashmere Wright shoots while defended by Providence's Bryce Cotton (11) and Vincent Council during the second half.

Written by
Bill Koch

Forget about the near-meltdown in the second half and the eye-popping shooting performance by Providence guard Vincent Council.

For the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, all that mattered Wednesday night was that they were able to secure a badly needed victory to keep alive their NCAA Tournament hopes, taking care of business with an 81-66 victory over the Friars before 7,822 fans at Fifth Third Arena.

“Any double-figure win in the Big East is a great win,” said UC coach Mick Cronin.

UC endured some anxious moments when Providence roared back in the second half to reduce a 24-point deficit to seven with 4:26 to play only to see the Bearcats hold on to win by outscoring the Friars, 15-7, in the final 3:43.

“When you get the lead that we had, we can’t even look at the scoreboard,” said UC guard Sean Kilpatrick. “We’ve got to just keep playing.”

UC (18-8 overall, 8-5 in the Big East) had lost four of its last six games. Providence (13-14, 2-12) is the last-place team in the league. The Friars, who have lost four in a row and eight of their last nine, are 0-7 on the road in the Big East.

The Bearcats survived a 21-point onslaught in the second half by Council, who finished with 29 to lead the Friars.

“He was making some unbelievable stuff,” Kilpatrick said.

LaDontae Henton scored 24 for Providence. Bryce Cotton, who averages 15 points, failed to score. He was 0-for-7 from the field, 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Kilpatrick led UC with 22. Yancy Gates scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Bearcats.


The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II
The Bearcats' Yancy Gates elevates for a first-half dunk.

“This time of year everybody is desperate for wins,” Gates said. “We were shocked that we went up as much as we did in the first half. We knew from watching some film on them that the second half they’re a real good team, especially with a guy like Council, who can go off like he did at any given time.”

UC out-rebounded Providence, 44-26, and outscored the Friars, 20-4, in second-chance points. The Bearcats also had a huge 19-0 edge in bench scoring, getting solid contributions from Ge’Lawn Guyn, Jeremiah Davis and Justin Jackson.

“I’ve got great confidence in those guys,” Cronin said. “They’re the future of our program. They all gave us quality minutes.”

After leading, 41-25, at halftime, the Bearcats started the second half on a 9-2 run that pushed their lead to 50-27. They led, 54-30, when Providence started its comeback.

The Friars used a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to 11 behind 13 points from Council. UC stopped the Providence run on a layup by Kilpatrick, who stole the ball after the Friars had secured a defensive rebound. A layup by Cashmere Wright pushed the UC lead back to 15, but Council continued to fire away from long range, drilling another trey. UC led, 60-48, with 9:00 left and 66-50 after a Kilpatrick tip-in with 6:18 to play.

The Friars came back again, scoring nine straight points to get within seven at 66-59 on Gerard Coleman’s fast-break dunk off a UC turnover with 4:26 to play, prompting the crowd to boo.

UC never trailed in the first half. Providence beat the Bearcats down the floor for three easy baskets in the early going, much the same way Marquette did in its win over UC on Saturday, but once the Bearcats shut down the Friars’ transition game, Providence had trouble scoring in the half-court.

After pulling within two points with 12:34 left in the half, the Friars went 4:03 without scoring, missing seven straight shots during that span. UC took advantage by building a 22-13 lead on Kilpatrick’s 3-pointer with 9:31 to play in the half.

“I thought we gave Cincinnati a ton of confidence early and that carried them through the game,” said Providence coach Ed Cooley.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...ate-charge

UC's NCAA tourney chances on brink


The Enquirer/Gary Landers
Jaquon Parker (right), Sean Kilpatrick (23) and the Bearcats begin a run of 3 straight home games starting Wednesday night.

Written by
Bill Koch

If there’s one thing that seniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon have learned during their four years at the University of Cincinnati, it’s that the NCAA Tournament is not promised to anyone.

Gates and Dixon labored through their first two seasons without being part of one as they helped to rebuild the UC program, then played in the tournament last year for the first time. Now, with their careers winding down, they realize there’s a very real possibility they might not return if things don’t turn around in a hurry.

“It’s most important to us because it’s our last chance,” Gates said. “We played in it last year and you don’t want your senior year to go backwards.”

UC (17-8 overall, 7-5 in the Big East) begins a run of three straight home games at 9 p.m. Wednesday (ESPNU) at Fifth Third Arena against last-place Providence (13-13, 2-11). The Bearcats, who have lost four of their last six games, know they need every victory they can muster to enhance their NCAA Tournament profile.

“We let a lot of games slip away from us that we know we could have won,” Dixon said. “Maybe it’s leadership that needs to come from us. We can’t let it keep happening with our careers going down. This is it right here. It’s do or die right now.”

Playing at home against the last-place team in the league would seem to be a good place to start a stretch run to the NCAA Tournament, as the Bearcats did last year when they won five of their last regular-season games.

Included during that run was a 93-81 overtime win at Providence. The Bearcats will be favored to win tonight, but they have steeled themselves for what could be another difficult tussle with the Friars, who, despite their poor conference record, certainly are not pushovers. Three of their last four losses have been by three points or fewer, including an 87-84 overtime loss to West Virginia.

“They played well in six of their last seven games,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “They’ve had double-digit leads. You watch them play with the talent they have on the offensive end, wondering how do they have the record they have? The answer is they play in the Big East and they don’t have subs at the guard position, so they get worn down at times and it affects their defense and it affects their play in the last 10 minutes of the game.”

Providence junior Vincent Council is one of the top guards in the Big East. He leads the league in assists (7.4 per game), averages 16.1 points, and has had six games of 20 points or more with seven double-doubles. Sophomore guard Bryce Cotton averages 15.0 points and ranks sixth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (40.9 percent). And forward LaDontae Henton (13.5 points, 8.4 rebounds) is one of the league’s top freshmen.

UC is looking to bounce back from a deflating 95-78 loss at Marquette that left Cronin dismayed over his team’s defensive effort. Despite that loss, a victory tonight could lift the Bearcats into a sixth-place tie with Louisville, keeping them on pace to earn a first-round bye in the Big East tournament.

“You have to have some fortitude about you as a group,” Cronin said. “Nobody’s going undefeated and it’s about where you finish, not where you start, so you’ve got to have enough toughness to move on. But you’ve got to have enough accountability to look in the mirror and see where you’re weakest and for us it’s our ability to play at our apex defensively on a nightly basis.”

The Bearcats will need to reach that apex more consistently if they hope to get where they want to go.

“When our backs are against the wall, we play great,” Dixon said. “Right now we know our backs are against the wall so I feel that everybody’s going to be locked in.”

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...135&Ref=AR

UC 81, Providence 66 -summary

02/16/12 at 12:08am
Written by bkoch

Players of the game: Providence guard Vincent Council, scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. LaDontae Henton scored 24 for the Friars. Sean Kilpatrick scored 22 points with eight rebounds for UC. Yancy Gates had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Turning point: After Providence cut a 24-point deficit to seven with 4:26 to go, UC outscored the Friars, 15-7, to put the game away.

Telling stats: UC out-rebounded Providence, 44-26, and outscored the Friars, 20-4, in second-chance points.

Records: UC 18-8 overall, 8-5 in the Big East. Providence 13-14, 2-12.

Quotes:

Mick Cronin: “Any double-figure win in the Big East is a great win.”

Sean Kilpatrick: “When you get the lead that we had, we can’t even look at the scoreboard. We’ve got to just keep playing.”

Providence coach Ed Cooley: “I thought we gave Cincinnati a ton of confidence early and that carried them through the game.”

Notes: UC evened its all-time series with Providence at 4-4…UC’s bench outscored Providence’s bench, 19-0…The Bearcats moved into a tie for sixth place in the Big East with Louisville…Dion Dixon, who had no rebounds in his last two games, pulled down six agaisnt Providence.

Up next: UC plays Seton Hall on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena; Providence plays at home agaisnt No. 10 Georgetown on Saturday.