Red hot Pitt Downs UC

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/sports/red_hot_pitt_downs_uc-1.1437252

Red hot Pitt downs UC
Jeff Geiser The News Record


The University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team went into Saturday’s game against No. 4-ranked Pittsburgh winning five of the last six games and searching for a signature win to bolster its NCAA tournament resumé.

That search continues after the Panthers defeated the Bearcats 85-69 before a crowd of 12,508 at the Peterson Events Center.

Pittsburgh tied a school record, shooting 67.4 percent from the field and missed only eight field goal attempts from the two-point range for the entire game.

“That’s the difference in their team this year: They’re putting up 77 points a game,” said UC head coach Mick Cronin. “They’re the best team we’ve played. They have the most complete team.”

The Pittsburgh attack was led by Sam Young’s 18 points and DeJuan Blair’s 17.

“They played well. Let’s give Pitt credit,” Cronin said. “Dejuan Blair made circus shots in the paint. His fall-away shots were ridiculous. He played like Karl Malone.”

Pitt’s offensive efficiency could largely be attributed to senior point guard Levance Fields.

“They have Levance Fields, who dominates with 13 assists and no turnovers. He’s probably the best pure run-your-team point guard,” Cronin said. “He’s not the talent that maybe Johnny Flynn (of Syracuse) is, but they have the best, pure senior point guard in the country.”

Despite the defensive struggles, there were some bright spots in the Bearcats’ performance: UC shot over 50 percent from the field against a vaunted Pitt defense and rebounded the ball well.

“Here’s our positives: We were able to come in here and shoot 52 percent and 46 percent [from 3-point range] at Pittsburgh, a team that’s known for their defense and toughness; and we were able to get 12 offensive rebounds, which was 48 percent of our misses,” said Cronin.

UC had three double-digit scorers, led by senior forward Mike Williams’ 17 points. Sophomore guard Larry Davis and freshman guard Dion Dixon added 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

The Pittsburgh defense limited UC’s leading scorer, Deonta Vaughn, to nine points – seven below his average.

“We’re not down. Obviously we don’t believe in moral victories. We’re not happy with our effort on the defensive end, but we did a lot of things well today,” Cronin said. “We just got beat by a better team, let’s just call it what it is. There’s a reason why I think they can win the national championship.”

The Bearcats return to action Saturday, Feb. 21, against Big East rival Louisville at Fifth Third Arena.