On the list of great three-point shooters in Cincinnati Bearcats history, you've got LaZelle Durden, of course, along with Roger McClendon and Darnell Burton. Nick Van Exel, if the basketball game was on the line. And, Melvin Levett.
Melvin Levett? He began the year with 21 three-pointers in two seasons and woke up Saturday morning with nine in seven games this season? - yeah, that guy.
Levett set a school record with 10 three pointers to lead the UC men's basketball team to a 106-53 victory over Eastern Kentucky, the most one-sided loss in EKU history. Levett finished with a career-high 42 points.
''That's crazy,'' Levett said, without any dispute. ''As bad as I shoot the ball, as streaky as I shoot the ball, I never thought I would be breaking LaZelle Durden or surpassing Darnell Burton. Those guys are great, flat-out shooters. I'm just a guy that throws it up there, and some days it comes down right.''
UC (6-2), already without suspended forward Ruben Patterson, was short two more starters. Leading scorer D'Juan Baker and center Kenyon Martin were suspended three games for making impermissible telephone calls, taking 29.4 points out of the lineup.
Before the game, Baker pulled Levett aside and challenged him to make up the difference, or at least part.
Assistant coach Mick Cronin told Levett to spend more energy attacking the glass because he played better when he rebounded well. Levett grabbed six rebounds that got lost amid the huge numbers on his statistical line.
Guard Brent Petrus' career-high 21 points and forward Bobby Brannen's 20 points and 13 rebounds also were obscured by Levett's production.
''I guess that's the way it goes,'' Levett said. ''When you've got a fallen soldier, the guys in the army have to pick it up.''
It only took 59 seconds for UC to turn this game into what most everyone expected it would be. The score was 11-10 at the 15:06 mark. It was 23-10 at 14:07. That fast.
The Bearcats swiped the ball three times in four trips, and on the other EKU committed a turnover. UC got seven points from Petrus and five from Levett in that sequence.
''That stretch when they got the early run, used the press and get some turnovers - that really shell-shocked us,'' said EKU coach Scott Perry. ''We never recovered. We tried to take some timeouts and stem the tide, but it didn't work.''
The UC surge continued for another five minutes and 14 points, ending with the Bearcats holding a 37-12 lead. Levett made seven of his first eight shots and had 26 points in the first half.
With UC playing the man-to-man denial press that destroyed EKU's partner in the Ohio Valley Conference, Morehead State, the Colonels committed 17 turnovers in the first 16 minutes. The Bearcats were able to crank out 60 first-half points, their most since putting 65 on Cal-Northridge in 1994-95.
''We just didn't let them get it in,'' Brannen said. ''It really frustrated them, and that's definitely something we can use.'' Levett reached nine three-pointers with 13:12 left, tying the record. He had a wide-open opportunity to pass Durden on UC's next possession. Instead, he took a dribble to the left and popped in a 14-footer, as if trying to prove he is more than a long-distance shooter.
This is not a problem he's had for long.
One week earlier, Levett was hitting .319 from the field, terrific for a sure-handed outfielder but not so great for a high-flying small forward. He was missing not layups, but drop-ins. He was 1-of-9 against Detroit, 3-of-14 against Morehead State. Spread over five games, he made just four of his first 15 three-point attempts. ''For a long time, we were trying to get Mel to do something besides use his athleticism,'' Huggins said.
''Before the Minnesota game, he stayed and shot the ball. His mechanics have gotten better.''
In three games over eight days, Levett lifted his field-goal percentage to .447 and made 15-of-27 from three-point range.
Myrick knee injury 'mild sprain'
EASTERN KY (53)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Evans 13 1-5 5-6 1-2 0 3 7
Thomas 31 1-8 3-5 0-2 1 3 6
Wilder 11 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 5 0
Carnes 36 6-12 0-0 0-7 4 2 14
Fitzgerald 30 4-7 0-0 0-2 0 2 9
Williams 19 3-9 1-2 2-2 0 2 9
Cecil 27 1-4 2-4 2-6 0 5 4
Addie 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Myles 20 2-3 0-0 3-6 0 4 4
Carpenter 10 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 18-52 11-17 8-28 5 26 53
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.346, FT-.647. 3-Point Goals:
6-23, .261 (Evans 0-2, Thomas 1-7, Carnes 2-3,
Fitzgerald 1-3, Williams 2-5, Cecil 0-1,
Carpenter 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots:
3 (Myles 2, Evans). Turnovers: 29 (Thomas 8,
Carnes 7, Wilder 3, Williams 3, Cecil 2, Evans 2,
Myles 2, Addie, Carpenter). Steals: 7 (Carnes 2,
Thomas 2, Evans, Fitzgerald, Myles).
CINCINNATI (106)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Levett 34 16-24 0-0 1-6 2 1 42
Brannen 31 6-11 8-10 5-13 2 3 20
Fletcher 23 1-8 6-8 2-3 3 3 8
Horton 10 0-1 2-4 0-0 4 1 2
Petrus 34 7-8 6-6 3-7 1 1 21
Jackson 26 0-1 3-4 3-4 0 2 3
Myrick 13 1-2 1-2 0-2 1 2 3
Carson 21 2-6 1-2 1-2 3 2 5
Meacham 5 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Stocks 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 34-64 27-36 15-38 17 16 106
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.531, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
11-21, .524 (Levett 10-14, Fletcher 0-2, Petrus
1-1, Myrick 0-1, Carson 0-3). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 3 (Levett, Fletcher, Jackson).
Turnovers: 13 (Brannen 3, Levett 3, Myrick 2,
Carson, Fletcher, Jackson, Meacham, Petrus).
Steals: 9 (Horton 3, Jackson 2, Carson, Levett,
Myrick, Petrus).
__________________________________
Eastern Ky 19 34 - 53
Cincinnati 60 46 - 106
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 8,945. Officials: Tom
Rucker, Petro, Michael Ashurst.
SEASON IN STORIES
