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01-21-2018, 01:50 PM
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. â It's true that ECU scored 90 points in its previous game, but that was against USF. The Pirates weren't supposed to be able to score so easily against a University of Cincinnati defense that ranks second nationally in points allowed.
But there they were in the first half Saturday, pretty much scoring at will against the Bearcats, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and piling up 38 points. It wasn't hard to predict that the second half would be different.
Sure enough, UC turned up the defensive pressure after intermission limiting ECU to 30 percent shooting and pulling away from a 5-point lead early in the half to produce an 86-60 victory before 8,879 fans at BB&T Arena.
"A team shoots 55 percent against you, we're never going to be happy with that," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "They were confident and they hit a lot of late-clock, hard shots. That puts pressure on your defense. Our attitude should have been, let's play harder. Instead it was, what's going on? Why are they playing well? The guys didn't expect them to put the ball in the basket the way they did. We had a little attitude adjustment at halftime and we locked in much better."
No. 12 UC (17-2 overall, 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference) has won 36 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. The Bearcats have won 10 straight overall. ECU fell to 8-11, 2-6.
Kyle Washington and Jacob Evans III each scored 17 points to lead UC. Clark scored 14 points with 14 rebounds for his third straight double-double, his seventh of the season and 25th of his career. Jarron Cumberland also scored 14 points for UC. Isaac Fleming and Shawn Williams each scored 15 for ECU. The Bearcats outscored the Pirates, 40-22, in the second half.
"We were trying to take them out of their things," Evans said of the first half, "but we just weren't giving enough effort. They were getting every loose ball. We tried to come out in the second half and play a little harder. That's what got things going for us."
The Bearcats out-rebounded ECU, 46-29, and pulled down 22 offensive rebounds that resulted in 21 second-chance points. They outscored the Pirates, 50-24, in the paint and 19-7 off turnovers. UC committed only one turnover in the first half, just seven for the entire game, while forcing ECU into 15. The Bearcats blocked 10 shots.
In short, by the end of the game, the numbers were every bit as dominant as they were expected to be for the 12th-ranked team in the country playing against a team with a losing record.
But although there was never any sense that the Bearcats would lose, they did have trouble shaking off the threat posed by the Pirates until first Clark, then Washington and then Evans went to work to squash ECU's upset bid in the second half.
The Bearcats don't like the recent pattern that has emerged in which they get off to a slow start and have to fight from behind to secure a victory. This one wasn't as bad as the last two road games at UCF and USF, but was troubling nonetheless.
"We got tougher as the game went on, which has really been the way we've been playing," Cronin said. "We weren't down 10 this game, but the last two games we were down and nine and 10. We haven't gotten off to good starts of late, which is probably a concern for me. Early in the game today defensively we were bad. The other games early in the game our offense was non-existent and our rebounding was non-existent."
So far the slow starts haven't resulted in any lasting damage, but the Bearcats are determined to put a stop to them before they do.
"Teams are coming out with nothing to lose and playing as hard as they can because they understand what we've done to other teams," Clark said. "So they come in with their best shot. We've just got to be able to withstand that wave, especially when we're on the road. When we're home, we have to come out locked in and give 100 percent effort."
UC received strong efforts off the bench from Nysier Brooks (eight points, five rebounds in 11 minutes), Trevon Scott (five points, seven rebounds in 14 minutes) and Cane Broome (seven points, six assists, no turnovers in 28 minutes).
Cronin was especially pleased with Broome's lack of turnovers.
"The more Cane can play without turning the ball over," Cronin said, "the more you're going to see him be more productive and really help us."
http://gobearcats.com/news/2018/1/20/men...86-60.aspx
But there they were in the first half Saturday, pretty much scoring at will against the Bearcats, shooting 55.2 percent from the field and piling up 38 points. It wasn't hard to predict that the second half would be different.
Sure enough, UC turned up the defensive pressure after intermission limiting ECU to 30 percent shooting and pulling away from a 5-point lead early in the half to produce an 86-60 victory before 8,879 fans at BB&T Arena.
"A team shoots 55 percent against you, we're never going to be happy with that," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "They were confident and they hit a lot of late-clock, hard shots. That puts pressure on your defense. Our attitude should have been, let's play harder. Instead it was, what's going on? Why are they playing well? The guys didn't expect them to put the ball in the basket the way they did. We had a little attitude adjustment at halftime and we locked in much better."
No. 12 UC (17-2 overall, 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference) has won 36 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. The Bearcats have won 10 straight overall. ECU fell to 8-11, 2-6.
Kyle Washington and Jacob Evans III each scored 17 points to lead UC. Clark scored 14 points with 14 rebounds for his third straight double-double, his seventh of the season and 25th of his career. Jarron Cumberland also scored 14 points for UC. Isaac Fleming and Shawn Williams each scored 15 for ECU. The Bearcats outscored the Pirates, 40-22, in the second half.
"We were trying to take them out of their things," Evans said of the first half, "but we just weren't giving enough effort. They were getting every loose ball. We tried to come out in the second half and play a little harder. That's what got things going for us."
The Bearcats out-rebounded ECU, 46-29, and pulled down 22 offensive rebounds that resulted in 21 second-chance points. They outscored the Pirates, 50-24, in the paint and 19-7 off turnovers. UC committed only one turnover in the first half, just seven for the entire game, while forcing ECU into 15. The Bearcats blocked 10 shots.
In short, by the end of the game, the numbers were every bit as dominant as they were expected to be for the 12th-ranked team in the country playing against a team with a losing record.
But although there was never any sense that the Bearcats would lose, they did have trouble shaking off the threat posed by the Pirates until first Clark, then Washington and then Evans went to work to squash ECU's upset bid in the second half.
The Bearcats don't like the recent pattern that has emerged in which they get off to a slow start and have to fight from behind to secure a victory. This one wasn't as bad as the last two road games at UCF and USF, but was troubling nonetheless.
"We got tougher as the game went on, which has really been the way we've been playing," Cronin said. "We weren't down 10 this game, but the last two games we were down and nine and 10. We haven't gotten off to good starts of late, which is probably a concern for me. Early in the game today defensively we were bad. The other games early in the game our offense was non-existent and our rebounding was non-existent."
So far the slow starts haven't resulted in any lasting damage, but the Bearcats are determined to put a stop to them before they do.
"Teams are coming out with nothing to lose and playing as hard as they can because they understand what we've done to other teams," Clark said. "So they come in with their best shot. We've just got to be able to withstand that wave, especially when we're on the road. When we're home, we have to come out locked in and give 100 percent effort."
UC received strong efforts off the bench from Nysier Brooks (eight points, five rebounds in 11 minutes), Trevon Scott (five points, seven rebounds in 14 minutes) and Cane Broome (seven points, six assists, no turnovers in 28 minutes).
Cronin was especially pleased with Broome's lack of turnovers.
"The more Cane can play without turning the ball over," Cronin said, "the more you're going to see him be more productive and really help us."
http://gobearcats.com/news/2018/1/20/men...86-60.aspx
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