CINCINNATI - No. 12 Cincinnati ran past Saint Louis 77-52 tonight in a Conference USA men's basketball game before 12,886 fans at Fifth Third Arena. Bearcats sophomore forward James White scored a career high 23 points, collected a career high 11 rebounds and matched his career high with seven assists.
"We kept Jason Maxiell under control, but the mark of a great program is that they've got other scoring options like James White," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "We got in trouble in the first half by not taking care of our defensive board. We never really got control of that part of the game."
The first half featured a series of Cincinnati runs as the Bearcats rolled to a 37-24 halftime lead. The 'Cats hit the Billikens with a 9-2 burst to open the game, but Saint Louis fought back to tie it at 11 on junior forward Izik Ohanon's jumper. With the game tied at 13, UC ran off 15 unanswered points as the Bills went scoreless for just over five minutes. After the Bills closed to 28-19 on center Tom Frericks' offensive rebound at the 4:10 mark, UC held Saint Louis scoreless for another three minutes to move on top 34-19. The 'Cats had a mammoth 27-9 rebounding edge in the first 20 minutes.
UC built the lead to 50-30 with 14:32 left in regulation as Field Williams buried one of his six treys on the night. But the Billikens made a stand and closed to within 50-38 as guards Izik Ohanon's knocked in two free throws to cut UC's lead to 59-48 with 6:52 to play.
That's when the 'Cats landed the knockout blow with a 13-0 run highlighted by treys from White and Williams, who finished with 20 points. Maxiell and Tony Bobbitt also tossed in 10 points apiece. Cincinnati (19-5, 10-3) shot 50.9 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three and 76.9 percent from the line. UC dominated the glass 44-22 and converted 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. .
Ohanon topped SLU with 12 points, and Bryant finished with 10. The Bills shot 37.5 percent from the floor, 22.2 percent from the arc and 60 percent from the line.
Saint Louis (14-10, 7-6) has its final road game at Tulane on Sat., Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. (CT).
