UC Bearcats lose nailbiter at Syracuse, 57-55
Orange extend longest win streak in Division I
Jan. 21, 2013 7:37 PM,
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Bearcats guard Sean Kilpatrick drives to the basket against Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams during the second half of the Orange's 57-55 win Monday at the Carrier Dome.
Written by
Bill Koch
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Call it a batted ball that happened to go in the basket, as University of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin did. Or a freak rebound, which is how senior guard JaQuon Parker described it.
By whatever name, C.J. Fair’s tip-in with 19 seconds left was the devastating blow that lifted Syracuse to a come-from-behind 57-55 victory over the Bearcats on Monday afternoon before 24,281 fans at the Carrier Dome.
Fair’s tip-in of Jerami Grant’s missed shot with the score tied at 55-55 allowed the Orange to extend the longest home winning streak in the nation to 35 games and left the UC players shaking their heads.
“We tipped it and then he tipped it,” said UC guard Sean Kilpatrick, who led the Bearcats with 21 points. “We thought it was at least going to go in the air like every other ordinary rebound would. Instead, it just rolled in.”
Cronin said he looked at the video immediately after the game and saw three players get a hand on the ball – two from UC, plus Fair. One of those UC players was Cheikh Mbodj.
“I was trying to hit it away from him,” Mbodj said. “We both hit it at the same time.”
Fair was happy to take credit for the game-winner, no matter how it happened. “I tipped that in,” Fair said. “I did have help. But I think I was the last person that touched it. I’ll take it. Even if I didn’t, I’ll take the win.”
The Bearcats still had a chance to prevail in after Fair’s tip-in, but Cashmere Wright’s 3-point shot from the top of the key rolled off the rim with three seconds left.
After Wright’s missed shot, the Bearcats fouled Brandon Triche, who missed the front end of the one-and-one with 2.5 seconds to play. Following a UC timeout, Titus Rubles threw the ball inbounds from under the Syracuse basket to Parker, who launched a shot from just across mid-court, but it wasn’t close.
Before the game UC (16-4, 4-3) learned that it had jumped back into the AP Top 25 at No. 21 after a one-week absence. No. 3 Syracuse (18-1, 6-0) won its eighth straight game.
Michael Carter-Williams led Syracuse with 16 points. It was his 3-point basket that tied the score at 55-55 with 1:21 left.
Wright returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s Marquette game with a sprained right knee. He played 29 minutes and scored five points on 2-of-13 shooting. He was not available to talk to reporters after the game.
UC was on the verge of a huge upset when it led, 51-44, with 5:08 left, but was outscored 13-4, the rest of the game, going 1-for-6 from the field during that span with two turnovers.
The Bearcats nearly pulled off the upset despite going 9:54 in the first half without scoring. They shot 20.7 percent in the half and scored a season-low 18 points, but trailed only 22-18 at intermission.
UC came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Orange, 15-4, to take a 33-26 lead. The Bearcats’ zone defense held Syracuse 23 points below its league-leading offensive average, out-rebounded the Orange, 38-28, and led for all but 2:48 of the second half. Syracuse had only eight offensive rebounds, but one of them was the difference in the game.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, whose team knocked off No. 1 Louisville on Saturday, said the Orange were fortunate to win.
“We should’ve lost both these games,” Boeheim said. “That’s why Rick (Pitino) was so upset the other day. There was almost no way on earth that Louisville should have lost that game on Saturday. And there was less of a chance for Cincinnati to lose this game. They had it. The game was over.”
Cronin didn’t disagree.
“I wish he could call the Big East and see if he could give us the ‘W,” Cronin said. They out-executed us down the stretch. You’ve got to give their kids credit. They never quit. They kept playing. We weren’t able to get the defense stops that they were able to get. That’s what it boiled down to.”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130...r-Syracuse
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Syracuse basketball rallies past Cincinnati in wild finish
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