D'Juan Baker puts up his game-winning shot.
(AP photo)
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BOISE, Idaho - Just under four seconds remained as D'Juan Baker's three-point jumper slammed through the bottom of the net. It was no time to celebrate. It still was necessary for the Cincinnati Bearcats to defend their lead, and, presuming that worked, it then would be necessary to defend their effort.
They made only token attempt at both. Northern Arizona point guard Kawika Akina hustled upcourt and heaved a 40-footer. It caught the rim, and the Bearcats had a 65-62 first-round NCAA Tournament victory that saved them from serving as this year's most improbable upset victim.
''That was scary,'' said UC forward Ruben Patterson.
''We took them for granted,'' said Baker.
The Bearcats (27-5) came within seconds of being the fourth No. 2 seed to be eliminated in the opening round in the 14 years the NCAA has operated a 64-team tournament. NAU (21-8) shot 50 percent in the first half and finished with 13 points each from center Casey Frank and guard Ross Land.
''They can shoot the ball,'' said UC coach Bob Huggins. ''We've played a lot of teams in the last nine years, and they shoot it as well as anyone.''
Bobby Brannen, fighting UNA's Casey Frank for a rebound, came through with 24 points and 12 boards.
(Saed Hindash photo)
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UC was down by six points with 9:25 to play, by three with 6:29 left. Bobby Brannen missed one of two free throws with 25 seconds left to give NAU's Michael McNair a chance to tie the score with a miracle 24-foot three-pointer 8 seconds later. Not until Baker's three-pointer did the ninth-ranked Bearcats have the lead for good.
Baker made mistakes on two of the previous five possessions, forcing a shot when he wasn't open on the wing and then losing the next on a turnover. He did not waste his third chance at glory.
With the score tied at 62 and 17 seconds left, the Bearcats called a play for forward Brannen, with Baker as a second option. Point guard Shawn Myrick found no clear angle for an entry pass, but Baker cut behind a screen set by center Kenyon Martin and was clear. Myrick swung the ball to the left wing, and Baker drilled his second game-winning shot in the past two weeks.
''I wasn't going to hesitate if the ball came to me,'' Baker said. ''I was either going to take him if my guy was there or shoot over him. Coach told me if I got it, to go up on my tiptoes like I know how.''
UC recovered by forcing the ball inside to Brannen, who scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and also grabbed 12 rebounds. With many of the Bearcats frustrated by the insistent screening in NAU's offense, Huggins used Brannen, Martin, Myrick, Baker and forward Melvin Levett almost exclusively in the stretch.
Bob Huggins pleaded and pleaded and pleaded.
(Saed Hindash photo)
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From the start, the Bearcats played as though they feared an upset. UC has not operated as a pressing team in the past couple months, but Huggins called for a fullcourt attack after only a few minutes to make the Lumberjacks as nervous about playing this game as the Bearcats clearly were.
That never happened. NAU made no effort to force a three-point attack, which UC would have had an easier time defending with its quickness. Instead, the Lumberjacks concentrated on setting screens in and around the foul lane, making the Bearcats more vulnerable to pick-and-roll plays should they attempt to execute switches.
For all of that, it was their inability to find good shots and make what they tried that kept UC in an uncomfortably tight circumstance. Of the first 29 shots, 22 were misses. The Bearcats pulled 16 balls from the offensive boards and turned only half into baskets.
And when Akina threw in an improbable overhead hook to escape Patterson's defense beat the shot clock with 1:53 left in the first half, NAU had the BSU Pavilion crowd fully on its side and the impetus to take a 31-26 halftime lead.
''The way we played - right now, I'm sitting here thinking in the first half, we didn't play worth a damn,'' Baker said.
''We did everything we had to do,'' said NAU coach Ben Howland. ''We just didn't win.''
''We overlooked them for the most part, and they showed us they can play,'' Martin said. ''I just put my arm around Bobby and said, 'It stops here.' ''
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NORTHERN ARIZONA (62)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Mavis 33 2-7 2-2 0-4 1 1 8
Hix 33 2-4 0-0 0-5 2 2 4
Frank 27 5-8 3-4 5-5 0 5 13
Land 26 5-10 0-0 0-1 1 2 13
Akina 30 3-10 0-0 0-1 5 3 6
Hutchings 10 1-3 0-0 1-1 2 2 2
Mcnair 11 2-9 0-0 0-2 1 2 6
Polyblank 18 2-2 1-2 2-4 0 1 6
Mcclintock 12 1-1 2-2 0-3 0 4 4
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TOTALS 200 23-54 8-10 8-26 12 22 62
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Percentages: FG-.426, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals:
8-24, .333 (Mavis 2-6, Hix 0-1, Land 3-8, Akina
0-3, Mcnair 2-5, Polyblank 1-1). Team rebounds:
1. Blocked shots: 4 (Frank 2, Land, Mavis).
Turnovers: 13 (Frank 4, Akina 2, Hix 2, Hutchings
2, Land, Mcnair, Polyblank). Steals: 10 (Akina 7,
Land, Mavis, Mcnair).
CINCINNATI (65)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Patterson 24 3-10 4-7 3-6 0 1 11
Brannen 39 8-14 8-12 4-12 2 2 24
Martin 30 4-9 1-2 10-15 0 3 9
Baker 32 5-15 0-0 1-1 1 2 13
Horton 19 1-2 2-4 0-0 3 0 4
Levett 26 2-7 0-0 1-2 1 3 4
Fletcher 10 0-0 0-0 2-4 0 2 0
Myrick 16 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
Petrus 4 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 23-58 15-26 22-41 8 14 65
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Percentages: FG-.397, FT-.577. 3-Point Goals:
4-13, .308 (Patterson 1-2, Baker 3-9, Levett
0-2). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 3 (Martin
2, Patterson). Turnovers: 14 (Levett 4, Baker 3,
Brannen 2, Martin 2, Patterson 2, Horton).
Steals: 8 (Horton 2, Martin 2, Baker, Brannen,
Levett, Petrus).
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Northern Arizona 31 31 - 62
Cincinnati 26 39 - 65
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Technical fouls: None. Officials: Ed Corbett,
Steve Gordon, Stan Rote.
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