BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Danny Fortson wrestles Derek Hood for the ball. (Kevin J. Miyazaki photo) | ZOOM |

Darnell Burton, smiling all the while, stood at center court and dribbled away the final seconds. He could have fired one last jump-shot, but that might have added to Arkansas' humiliation. Then again, nothing humbles an athlete quite like pity.

This was a most pleasant predicament for the Cincinnati Bearcats. So soon after reaching their own nadir, they had to decide Saturday afternoon at Shoemaker Center whether to make their 92-57 destruction of Arkansas even worse.

''No matter what, we were going to kick somebody's butt,'' said UC forward Ruben Patterson, in a less magnanimous mood. ''We took our frustrations out on them.''

Far enough removed from Riverfront Coliseum and the Temple defense, the No. 4 Bearcats (12-3) authored the most one-sided defeat Arkansas has endured under coach Nolan Richardson and the second-worst in the school's history.

UC was coming off a 15-point loss Thursday that was broadcast to the nation by ESPN and Dick Vitale. The sting of that defeat helped ensure the Razorbacks (9-5) would be getting similar treatment from CBS and Billy Packer.

''This is one of the best performances by an opponent I have seen in all my years of coaching,'' Richardson said. ''After losses, good teams always bounce back strong and are focused. When you stop and think that a team that shoots 66 percent from the free throw line ordinarily shoots 91 percent - that tells you they're focused.''

Stifled by Temple's zone Thursday, Danny Fortson had 27 points and 18 rebounds against Arkansas. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

The Bearcats' 29-of-32 foul shooting was their best mark since tying a school record with a perfect night in a December 1995 win over Temple. Against the Hogs, this was not the only superlative they achieved.

• Forward Danny Fortson set career highs with 13 free throw points and 18 rebounds. With his string of double-figure scoring games stopped at 43 by Temple, he recovered to score 27 points against Arkansas.

• Center Jackson Julson scored eight points, double his season best.

• Most impressive was a 25-0 run for the Bearcats, which carried them from a 55-43 lead with 12:27 left to an 80-43 margin at the 4:36 mark.

The Razorbacks had cut a 45-30 halftime deficit to 10 points with 14:41 to play, but their next 12 possessions were spent on turnovers and missed shots. The Bearcats scored 11 times in that stretch.

From the start, it took only a couple of trips downcourt for the Bearcats to recognize they would encounter nowhere near the resistance that was presented by Temple two days earlier. Fortson caught the ball in scoring position more times in the first five minutes against the Razorbacks than in the full 40 against the Owls.

Ruben Patterson, who scored four Thursday, had 14 poinst Saturday. (Kevin J. Miyazaki photo) | ZOOM |

Fortson surpassed his Thursday point total (9) in slightly more than nine minutes Saturday.

''We hate to see zone, but that's the way it is in basketball,'' Fortson said. ''When they played man-to-man, we thought we might have our way with them.''

Arkansas showed a bit of zone defense, not nearly as much as Temple, but the key for UC was the Razorbacks' willingness to defend Fortson with a single player - and one who weighed 50 fewer pounds. Derek Hood, a McDonald's All American in high school, was so overmatched he picked up his fourth foul with 15:15 left.

''I thought Hood got caught up in the idea of trying to retaliate instead of playing,'' Richardson said. ''Maybe we talked too much about the physical game.''

In coach Bob Huggins' view, the reason UC was able to run its offense with such success was simple: ''We made shots.'' The Bearcats were only 5-of-14 from three-point range, however, with Burton making three of his four.

The type of shots they took was at least as important. All but nine UC field goals were scored from within 10 feet of the basket.

''I told our kids, we got beat pretty bad here, but all they can do is put an L or W by your name,'' Richardson said. ''You can line up tomorrow, and that whole game could change. That's how you've got to approach it.''

ARKANSAS (57)

                      fg    ft    rb

               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp

Wallace         24   1-7   0-0   0-0  2  1    3

Hood            20   2-5   0-0   1-2  0  4    4

Wilson          25   5-6   1-3   2-7  0  4   11

Bradley         22   2-9   0-0   2-3  0  3    5

Reid            38  3-10   6-6   2-3  4  3   13

Williams        12   1-2   0-2   0-0  0  2    2

Alexander       14  1-11   0-2   1-1  0  0    3

Thompson        14   2-4   0-0   1-2  1  2    4

Davis            8   2-2   0-1   2-3  0  2    4

Green            9   1-5   0-0   0-1  0  1    3

Whitney          8   0-0   1-2   1-1  0  0    1

Keeling          6   1-3   1-2   0-0  0  1    4

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TOTALS         200 21-64  9-18 12-23  7 23   57

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Percentages: FG-.328, FT-.500. 3-Point Goals:

6-24, .250 (Wallace 1-5, Bradley 1-4, Reid 1-3,

Alexander 1-5, Green 1-5, Keeling 1-2). Team

rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 3 (Wilson 3).

Turnovers: 12 (Wilson 3, Bradley 2, Williams 2,

Green, Hood, Wallace, Whitney). Steals: 5 (Hood

2, Reid, Williams, Wilson).



CINCINNATI (92)

                      fg    ft    rb

               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp

Patterson       24   5-9   4-6   4-7  1  4   14

Fortson         37  7-11 13-14  3-18  2  2   27

Julson          20   4-6   0-0   2-3  1  2    8

Flint           24   3-8   2-2   0-1  2  1    9

Williams        17   1-1   0-0   1-3  3  2    2

Burton          28   5-9   0-0   1-2  4  1   13

Brannen          9   2-2   0-0   1-2  0  1    4

Baker           18   1-3   6-6   0-1  1  0    9

Monroe           4   1-1   0-0   1-1  0  1    2

Martin          10   0-0   2-2   0-5  0  4    2

Levett           9   0-3   2-2   0-0  2  1    2

_______________________________________________

TOTALS         200 29-53 29-32 13-43 16 19   92

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Percentages: FG-.547, FT-.906. 3-Point Goals:

5-14, .357 (Patterson 0-1, Flint 1-5, Burton 3-4,

Baker 1-2, Levett 0-2). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked

shots: 2 (Martin, Flint). Turnovers: 14 (Flint 4,

Fortson 3, Patterson 3, Baker, Brannen, Julson,

Williams). Steals: 6 (Burton 3, Julson 2,

Patterson).

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Arkansas           30   27  -   57

Cincinnati         45   47  -   92

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Technical fouls: None.  A: 13,176. Officials: Ted

Hillary, David Bair, Curtis Shaw.