BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Terrance Davis and D'Juan Baker console each other in the final moments of UC's defeat. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - There was a tremendous swirl of force as Damon Flint bounded into the lane, 77 inches and 205 pounds of basketball might concentrated into this last attempt at victory. ''How could we get a better shot?'' asked UC coach Bob Huggins. Only one way, of course.

Six seconds remained when Flint, trying too hard not to let his momentum push the shot into the back of the rim, tossed up a running jumper. It flew meekly and caught the front instead, rolled into the hands of Iowa State forward Shawn Bankhead and ended UC's season of glorious misery in a 67-66 second-round NCAA Tournament defeat Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

This was not the design. Not the sequence - UC wanted forward Danny Fortson or guard Darnell Burton to shoot - and certainly not the result.

''We called a play to get Danny the ball or Darnell the ball, and it broke down,'' Flint said. ''There were five or six seconds left, and I went to the bucket. I had to take the shot.''

None of this might have been necessary had not the Bearcats fallen victim, literally, to a curious call by official John Cahill. He watched as Burton rebounded a missed shot by Iowa State with the Bearcats up one and 35 seconds left, then dropped to the ground when the Cyclones' Kenny Pratt grabbed his legs. Cahill blew his whistle and charged Burton with traveling.

''He said I fell on purpose,'' Burton said.

Why would anyone fall to the floor with the game in his hands and a half-minute to play?

''That's what I asked him,'' Burton said. ''He said nothing.''

Huggins had the same response when questioned about the play. To comment on the officiating would have risked an NCAA fine. ''You guys saw it. Write what you saw,'' he said. ''You guys probably saw it twice. I didn't get to see the replay.''

Coach Bob Huggins yells at Bobby Brannen after Brannen was called for a foul. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Cyclones coach Tim Floyd was quick to point out the fifth foul on 6-foot-11 center Kelvin Cato, which was called as he attempted to block a dunk shot from UC's Melvin Levett with 1:05 left, was a tough one as well. Levett's two free throws put the Bearcats in front, 66-65, and they figured one stop would be enough for victory.

''No doubt,'' Burton said.

Burton's turnover set up Iowa State to inbound beneath its basket. The Cyclones had scored twice previously in the same situation, and this time center Klay Edwards came free and rolled in a half-hook for the winning basket with 32 seconds left.

''When Klay hit that shot, everybody was nervous,'' said ISU freshman Stevie Johnson, ''but he does it all the time in practice.''

Iowa State had to execute one more escape, but this was the easiest. After Bankhead was fouled with four seconds left, he missed the first of a bonus free-throw situation. Ruben Patterson rebounded and passed to Flint, who dribbled toward midcourt and heaved one that slammed off the backboard.

''I thought maybe he could have gotten closer,'' Huggins said, ''but it's tough because you don't know how much time is left.''

The Bearcats were led by 16 points from All-American forward Danny Fortson and 14 from reserve center Bobby Brannen, who was 5-of-5 from the field in the second half. The Cyclones (22-8) screened defenders well enough to clear guard Dedric Willoughby for 19 points and five three-pointers.

Danny Fortson takes a rebound away from Iowa State's Klay Edwards. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

Iowa State's defensive strategy was to build a wall around Fortson, with 6-5 Pratt face-guarding him and Cato at his back. That frustrated Fortson into a pushing foul not quite one minute into the game and prevented him from attempting a shot until the 12:38 mark.

Jackson Julson, Brannen and Levett were left open nearly every time they touched the ball. Ultimately, they felt compelled to shoot and wound up a combined 3-of-14 from the field in the first half.

Brannen found his range early in the second half, and his three baskets kept the Bearcats close while their primary scorers were unable to get free. Patterson had the most trouble in this regard, since he was on the bench until 12 minutes remained, but Burton and Fortson got only two shots combined in that stretch.

''What Danny didn't get, Bobby got,'' Huggins said. ''That's the way it's supposed to be.''

The Bearcats recovered from a seven-point deficit to grab that late lead when Floyd chose to spread his offense and spend the shot clock, a tactic that only occasionally worked. One of those was Pratt's desperation three-pointer with 4:21 left and the 35-second clock about to expire. It was only his second three of the year and gave him 21 points for the game.

''You have to be fortunate against a great team like Cincinnati,'' Floyd said. ''But I thought we created some of our good fortune.''

The Bearcats started the season with a No. 1 ranking and wound up with a Conference USA championship and 26-8 record. The majority of their goals weren't achieved. ''We thought like if we could get this one,'' Burton said, ''we could get on a roll and make a big run.''

In Huggins' five previous NCAA Tournaments, Cincinnati only once failed to fulfill what the selection committee established as its destiny, and that was as an eighth seed losing to ninth-seeded Wisconsin in 1994.

''I felt we could have gone further, but we didn't,'' Flint said. ''You just deal with it.''

UC LOSS NOT ALL SURPRISING Daugherty column
BRANNEN BECOMES SCORER
MARCH MADNESS

IOWA ST (67)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Bankhead        28   2-3   0-1   0-6  4  2    4
Pratt           36  7-15   6-7   0-1  2  3   21
Cato            29   3-5   0-0   0-5  1  5    6
Holloway        40   2-4   5-5   0-2  6  1   11
Willoughby      40  5-10   4-4   0-3  2  2   19
B Johnson        1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
S Johnson       11   1-1   0-0   1-1  0  0    2
Edwards         13   2-2   0-0   0-1  0  0    4
Rampton          2   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 22-40 15-17  1-19 15 13   67
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.550, FT-.882. 3-Point Goals:
8-14, .571 (Pratt 1-2, Holloway 2-4, Willoughby
5-8). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 2 (Cato
2). Turnovers: 17 (Cato 4, Pratt 4, Willoughby 4,
Holloway 3, Bankhead 2). Steals: 4 (Holloway 2,
Pratt, Willoughby).

CINCINNATI (66)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Patterson       14   4-5   0-0   1-3  1  1    8
Fortson         34   6-8   4-6   3-3  0  3   16
Julson           3   0-4   0-0   1-3  0  0    0
Flint           40   3-8   0-0   0-3  6  1    9
Davis           18   1-3   0-0   0-1  3  0    2
Martin           5   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  1    0
Baker            6   0-2   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Levett          22   1-7   4-4   1-3  0  2    7
Burton          29   3-7   1-2   0-4  0  3   10
Brannen         28  7-10   0-0   3-5  1  4   14
Monroe           1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 25-55  9-12  9-25 11 15   66
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.455, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
7-22, .318 (Patterson 0-1, Julson 0-2, Flint 3-6,
Davis 0-2, Baker 0-1, Levett 1-5, Burton 3-5).
Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 1 (Flint).
Turnovers: 14 (Brannen 2, Flint 2, Fortson 2,
Burton, Davis, Julson, Levett, Martin,
Patterson). Steals: 8 (Brannen 2, Flint 2, Levett
2, Patterson 2).
__________________________________
Iowa St            37   30  -   67
Cincinnati         34   32  -   66
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  A: 21,020. Officials: Ed
Libbey, John Cahill, David Day.
                                                                        

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