AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - For one day, he was Danny Fortson. He got most of the shots that would ordinarily be due Fortson, and a lot of the points. None of the glory, though. Bobby Brannen's career night came in defeat.
''It still just hurts to lose,'' said Brannen, a 6-foot-7 junior center for the Cincinnati Bearcats. ''To lose like that, that's real bad. And to see these guys go ...''
Brannen will not play another basketball game that counts with seniors Damon Flint and Darnell Burton, and probably will not have Fortson as a teammate either, should he enter the NBA Draft as expected.
Their last game together was memorable, but not for the reasons expected. They were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in a 67-66 loss to Iowa State at the Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday, falling short of the Sweet 16 for only the third time in the past six years.
Brannen nearly prevented all of this. In a sense, he was ignored by the Iowa State defense, but also he was challenged. The Cyclones dared him to shoot the basketball, leaving him uncovered throughout the game even though he consistently dropped in 15-foot jumpers and scored a career-high 14 points.
With Fortson sealed from ready access to the ball by two defensive tactics - a sandwich of 6-5 Kenny Pratt and 6-11 Kelvin Cato and a triangle of defenders when Cato was in foul trouble - Brannen scored 10 of UC's 32 second-half points.
''We tried to limit Fortson's touches,'' said Iowa State coach Tim Floyd. ''We wanted to make them into a jumpshooting team.''
In the first half, Brannen met this opportunity with reluctance. He tried five shots, but his hesitance to fire was partly responsible for his three misses.
Brannen is a 48 percent shooter with a nice touch from the foul line, but in such an important game, it was only natural for him to expect Fortson and Burton to carry the offensive responsibility.
''Around halftime, coming in, I just thought about it. I figured it was time to start shooting,'' Brannen said. ''I've just always been a little reluctant shooting. I figured, hey, I know I can make this. It's not a hard shot they're giving me.''
The one problem Brannen faced was being matched defensively against Pratt, who frequently took the ball from the right wing to the goal for a layup or short jumper.
Pratt finished with a
game-high 21 points.
''A lot of teams have to come out and guard Cato,'' Pratt said. ''When they go after him, it leaves me open for a lot of shots. It was there for me.''
Brannen's last basket came with 5:58 left and put UC down 58-56. Fortson and forward Ruben Patterson scored the next eight UC points, and sophomore Melvin Levett then made the two free throws with 1:05 left that put UC briefly in front.
''That was the first time someone played that tight against me,'' Fortson said. ''They forced us to shoot jump shots. Fortunately, we were making them.''
UC LOSS NOT ALL SURPRISING Daugherty column
BEARCATS WHISPER SWEET NOTHINGS
MARCH MADNESS
