Cincinnati—It’s been quite a roller coaster ride of late
for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
However, Wednesday evening against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, it
was Cincinnati doing the soaring high above the coaster’s summit.
The Bearcats surmounted a 6-point halftime lead and
within seven minutes into the second half, was holding a commanding 61-37
advantage with a 23-5 run to begin the half.
Much of the early second-half damage was done by
Cincinnati’s frontcourt, Jason Maxiell especially who scored 10 of his game-high
20 points in the second half spurt.
Southern Miss (10-14, 1-11 C-USA) actually started the
game off playing well, jumping to a 17-13 advantage, much of which came on the
hot shooting hand of Mildon Ambres who scored eight of his team’s first 12
points.
The Bearcats’ frontcourt was too much to handle,
however.
Led by Maxiell and Eric Hicks, who scored 18 points and
grabbed 12 rebounds, Cincinnati rallied with an 8-0 run, taking a 21-17 lead
that would never be lost.
Cincinnati took to the locker room a six-point lead,
before flexing their muscle in the second half on the glass and in the
paint.
“In the second half I thought we passed the ball and
shared the ball,” Bearcat head coach Bob Huggins said after the game.
Southern Miss stayed competitive at times because of JUCO
guard, Rashaad Carruth. The former
Kentucky signee scored a team-high 16 points in the
loss.
David Haywood added 13 for the Golden Eagles, while
Ambres finished with 10.
“The game wasn’t much but we are who we are,” USM head
coach, Larry Eustachy said afterwards.
“I’m real impressed with Cincinnati. They keep coming at you with their heart
and their athleticism.”
Cincinnati finished the game out-rebounding Southern Miss
by a 44-19 margin, something Eustachy believes was in part, a statement of how
much tougher his team needs to be.
“We don’t have a competitive makeup, nor will some of
these guys ever,” Eustachy added.
“This program was a wreck, fourth losing season in a row and I’m sifting
through it. But we will have a team
like the one that just beat us.”
Cincinnati remains home at the Fifth Third Arena on
Saturday for a big showdown against UAB.
The game begins at 4:00 PM.
It is a sellout, but will be nationally televised on ESPN.