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03-10-2018, 11:29 AM
ORLANDO â For weeks, University of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin has been preaching about the importance of his bench players, claiming that the Bearcats would go only as far as his reserves could take them.
It seemed like coach-speak at one time, but after the Bearcats rallied from a six-point deficit with 15:38 to go in the second half to defeat SMU, 61-51, Friday in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Cronin's words sounded prophetic.
With Jacob Evans III and Jarron Cumberland struggling offensively, it was the UC bench that came to the rescue. The Bearcats quickly erased that six-point deficit with an 10-0 run. The first two of those points were scored by Kyle Washington, who led the Bearcats with 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Nysier Brooks and Trevon Scott scored the other eight to help UC right the ship.
"Tre and (Nysier) have really improved," Cronin said. "We might have been down six when they went on a run to bring us back, defensively and offensively, which is huge for us. They have helped us on the defensive end (earlier in the season), but today they helped us on the offensive end. They got three field goals each."
SMU trailed by one when Cane Broome, who also came off the bench, made a 3-point shot, the Bearcats' first trey of the game with 5:31 left, then followed with three free throws to enable UC to pull away with a 15-6 run to end the game.
No. 1 seed UC (28-4) will face No. 5 seed Memphis (21-12) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the tournament semifinals at Amway Center. The Tigers knocked off No. 4 seed Tulsa, 66-64, on a game-winning 3-point floater by Kareem Brewton Jr. as time expired. The Bearcats beat Memphis twice during the regular season, 82-48, at BB&T Arena, and 62-48 in Memphis.
The Bearcats have won five in a row after falling to Wichita State at home on Feb. 18. No. 9 seed SMU finished an injury-riddled season at 17-16.
Broome finished with 13 points and no turnovers in 24 minutes. And AAC Player of the Year Gary Clark had his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
The Bearcats led at halftime, 28-27, even though they didn't play well offensively. UC shot 37.5 percent from the field (12-for-32) and repeatedly missed shots around the basket, including a point blank layup by Clark with 24 seconds to play. They failed to make a 3-point shot in seven attempts and missed five of their nine free throws. Evans played only five minutes after picking up two quick fouls.
"It was definitely frustrating," Broome said of UC's cold shooting, "but Coach says all the time you're not going to always make shots. Our main focus in the second half was defense. We didn't even talk about shooting."
The Bearcats looked to be in trouble when they were outscored, 11-4, at the start of the second half, before Washington, Brooks and Scott stopped the bleeding. They finished with only two 3-point goals in 14 attempts, but found ways to compensate.
"I think it showed our versatility for us to be able to go inside," Washington said. "We just stayed persistent."
UC dominated statistically, outscoring the Mustangs, 38-22, in the paint; 21-6 off turnovers, 17-7 on second chance points and a whopping 26-9 in bench points. Short-handed SMU put up a valiant fight despite shortcomings that included three players suffering season-ending injuries. One of them was pre-season AAC Player of the Year Shake Milton. Others played through injuries.
Forward Akoy Agau, who twisted his ankle near the end of SMU's win over Connecticut on Thursday, aggravated it again early in Friday's game, but still managed to score eight points with six rebounds in 24 minutes. Jahmal McMurray led the Mustangs with 17 points.
"I wish things could have turned out much better," said SMU coach Tim Jankovich. "I wish we could have had the team we started the school year with. I wish that team was here to play. But you know what? Life doesn't always go as planned."
Cumberland, who averages 11.1 points, was held scoreless for only the second time this season, missing all four of his field goal attempts, including two 3-point shots. But Cronin went out of his way to praise him for his other contributions.
"In my opinion Jarron Cumberland, he's the player of the game," Cronin said. "He had eight deflections. He had eight assists. He had an unbelievable offensive rebound off of Nysier's missed free throw. He gives us a toughness that we need. He's just a real competitor. He's a guy that scored 2,000 and some points in high school, but he's becoming a winner. If it wasn't for him, we don't win this game."
The Bearcats held SMU to 35.5 percent in shooting in the second half after the Mustangs had shot 44 percent in the first.
"It's not always going to be a good night (offensively)," Clark said, "but as long as you contribute on the defensive end, you can help your team get a W. That's all we care about."
Cronin eschewed his usual coat and tie, dressing instead in a UC quarter-zip pullover to honor former UC and current West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who dresses that way for Mountaineer games. It was Huggins who hired Cronin for his first job in college basketball, making him UC's video coordinator in 1996. After being named The Sporting News Coach of the Year on Thursday, Cronin said he wore the quarter-zip in an effort to thank Huggins for taking a chance on him when he was coaching the JV team at Woodward High School.
"I could have still been banging around at Woodward High School if he didn't hire me," Cronin said.
Little did Cronin know that the Bearcats would go out and produce the type of victory that Huggins would have loved.
"We picked it up on the defensive end," Cronin said. "We picked it up on the backboard. In honor of my Coach Huggins outfit today we won without making shots, which he taught me 20 years ago."
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It seemed like coach-speak at one time, but after the Bearcats rallied from a six-point deficit with 15:38 to go in the second half to defeat SMU, 61-51, Friday in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Cronin's words sounded prophetic.
With Jacob Evans III and Jarron Cumberland struggling offensively, it was the UC bench that came to the rescue. The Bearcats quickly erased that six-point deficit with an 10-0 run. The first two of those points were scored by Kyle Washington, who led the Bearcats with 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Nysier Brooks and Trevon Scott scored the other eight to help UC right the ship.
"Tre and (Nysier) have really improved," Cronin said. "We might have been down six when they went on a run to bring us back, defensively and offensively, which is huge for us. They have helped us on the defensive end (earlier in the season), but today they helped us on the offensive end. They got three field goals each."
SMU trailed by one when Cane Broome, who also came off the bench, made a 3-point shot, the Bearcats' first trey of the game with 5:31 left, then followed with three free throws to enable UC to pull away with a 15-6 run to end the game.
No. 1 seed UC (28-4) will face No. 5 seed Memphis (21-12) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the tournament semifinals at Amway Center. The Tigers knocked off No. 4 seed Tulsa, 66-64, on a game-winning 3-point floater by Kareem Brewton Jr. as time expired. The Bearcats beat Memphis twice during the regular season, 82-48, at BB&T Arena, and 62-48 in Memphis.
The Bearcats have won five in a row after falling to Wichita State at home on Feb. 18. No. 9 seed SMU finished an injury-riddled season at 17-16.
Broome finished with 13 points and no turnovers in 24 minutes. And AAC Player of the Year Gary Clark had his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
The Bearcats led at halftime, 28-27, even though they didn't play well offensively. UC shot 37.5 percent from the field (12-for-32) and repeatedly missed shots around the basket, including a point blank layup by Clark with 24 seconds to play. They failed to make a 3-point shot in seven attempts and missed five of their nine free throws. Evans played only five minutes after picking up two quick fouls.
"It was definitely frustrating," Broome said of UC's cold shooting, "but Coach says all the time you're not going to always make shots. Our main focus in the second half was defense. We didn't even talk about shooting."
The Bearcats looked to be in trouble when they were outscored, 11-4, at the start of the second half, before Washington, Brooks and Scott stopped the bleeding. They finished with only two 3-point goals in 14 attempts, but found ways to compensate.
"I think it showed our versatility for us to be able to go inside," Washington said. "We just stayed persistent."
UC dominated statistically, outscoring the Mustangs, 38-22, in the paint; 21-6 off turnovers, 17-7 on second chance points and a whopping 26-9 in bench points. Short-handed SMU put up a valiant fight despite shortcomings that included three players suffering season-ending injuries. One of them was pre-season AAC Player of the Year Shake Milton. Others played through injuries.
Forward Akoy Agau, who twisted his ankle near the end of SMU's win over Connecticut on Thursday, aggravated it again early in Friday's game, but still managed to score eight points with six rebounds in 24 minutes. Jahmal McMurray led the Mustangs with 17 points.
"I wish things could have turned out much better," said SMU coach Tim Jankovich. "I wish we could have had the team we started the school year with. I wish that team was here to play. But you know what? Life doesn't always go as planned."
Cumberland, who averages 11.1 points, was held scoreless for only the second time this season, missing all four of his field goal attempts, including two 3-point shots. But Cronin went out of his way to praise him for his other contributions.
"In my opinion Jarron Cumberland, he's the player of the game," Cronin said. "He had eight deflections. He had eight assists. He had an unbelievable offensive rebound off of Nysier's missed free throw. He gives us a toughness that we need. He's just a real competitor. He's a guy that scored 2,000 and some points in high school, but he's becoming a winner. If it wasn't for him, we don't win this game."
The Bearcats held SMU to 35.5 percent in shooting in the second half after the Mustangs had shot 44 percent in the first.
"It's not always going to be a good night (offensively)," Clark said, "but as long as you contribute on the defensive end, you can help your team get a W. That's all we care about."
Cronin eschewed his usual coat and tie, dressing instead in a UC quarter-zip pullover to honor former UC and current West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who dresses that way for Mountaineer games. It was Huggins who hired Cronin for his first job in college basketball, making him UC's video coordinator in 1996. After being named The Sporting News Coach of the Year on Thursday, Cronin said he wore the quarter-zip in an effort to thank Huggins for taking a chance on him when he was coaching the JV team at Woodward High School.
"I could have still been banging around at Woodward High School if he didn't hire me," Cronin said.
Little did Cronin know that the Bearcats would go out and produce the type of victory that Huggins would have loved.
"We picked it up on the defensive end," Cronin said. "We picked it up on the backboard. In honor of my Coach Huggins outfit today we won without making shots, which he taught me 20 years ago."
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