CINCINNATI - No. 3 seed Cincinnati used a dominating second half to roll past seventh-seeded Saint Louis 66-46 in the 2004 Kelly Tires Conference USA Tournament semifinals tonight at U.S Bank Arena. Saint Louis (18-12) will now await an NIT bid.
"Cincinnati defended us very well, and they look like a team ready to make a deep run in the NCAAs," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "Our field goal percentage (.250) reflected how well they defended."
The Billikens had the pace of the game the way that they wanted as UC didn't come out with the same level of intensity as it had displayed the night before in beating archrival Louisville. Nevertheless, the Bearcats still had control of the game. SLU grabbed a 14-13 lead on freshman guard Darren Clarke's trey at the 7:05 mark, but the 'Cats responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead.
Saint Louis was hampered in the first half by foul trouble to point guard Josh Fisher, who had to leave the game with 10:59 remaining after picking up his second personal. After UC grabbed that 21-14 edge, Fisher returned and restored order. He orchestrated a 9-4 run that pulled SLU within 25-23, but UC forward Jason Maxiell dunked on guard Tony Bobbitt's errant 15-footer to end the half.
Each team came out shooting the ball better to start the second half. But with UC leading 34-30, the Bearcats held SLU scoreless for nearly eight minutes while going on a 16-0 run. The 'Cats eventually led by as many as 23 to close out the Billikens.
"To UC's credit, they made shots," Soderberg said. "Our guys will admit that they didn't defend well during that run. If we don't defend, we can't win."
"We got a lot of open looks, but we didn't hit them," said forward Chris Sloan, who was 1-of-9 from the field. "It's a tough pill to swallow."
Saint Louis shot a season-low 25 percent from the field and only 17.4 percent from threeland. Fisher topped the Bills with 14 points, and Bryant finished with 11 despite falling heavily early in the second half on his right hip. Bryant and Fisher shared the team lead with five rebounds apiece.
C-USA Sixth Man of the Year Tony Bobbitt topped the 'Cats with 12 points, while guard Nick Williams also popped in 11 off the bench. With eight players getting 15 minutes or more, UC got 35 points from its bench. UC shot 46.4 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from the arc. The 'Cats dominated the glass 43-30.
Twelfth-ranked Cincinnati (23-6) faces top seed DePaul in Saturday's championship game. The Blue Demons eliminated UAB 75-74 in overtime in the earlier semifinal.
