'Cats romp 72-60

Monday, January 24, 2000
'Cats romp 72-60
Marquette down 39-12 at half

BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Marquette's Brian Wardle (with ball) attempts to pass to teammate David Diggs while being swarmed by Cincinnati's Pete Mickeal, Kenny Satterfield, and Kenyon Martin.
(AP photo)
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MILWAUKEE — This is what you get when you creep too close to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Teams that view them from a distance may not perceive the same degree of danger, but Marquette's Golden Eagles were punished for their ambition.
Marquette entered Sunday night's game at the Bradley Center one victory away from a tie for first place in Conference USA, but by halftime the Golden Eagles were just a dozen points from being shut out.
UC needed the overwhelming lead it built in the first 20 minutes to maintain its dominance of C-USA. The No.1-ranked Bearcats (18-1, 6-0) earned a 72-60 victory over Marquette (11-6, 4-2), but only after allowing a lead that was 39-12 at the break to slide to just nine points.
The Bearcats were led by power forward Jermaine Tate's 15 points and 13 from forward Pete Mickeal. Mar quette got 24 points out of guard Brian Wardle, but UC's DerMarr Johnson turned in perhaps his best defensive effort and held Golden Eagles guard John Cliff to just 2-of-11 from the field and six points.
It would be overstating the case to call this an essential game for the Bearcats in terms of the Conference USA race, but it was clear they arrived well aware they were facing a challenge to their superiority and a threat to a fifth consecutive league title.
It turns out this is what UC wanted, not a middle-rung Mid-American Conference opponent, not a Memphis team struggling to see the .500 mark. The Bearcats needed to be inspired. And this was the result of their inspiration:
• UC set a conference record by holding the Golden Eagles to 12 points, the lowest for any team in a half. That also was the lowest halftime score for any Bearcats opponents since the stall game against Kentucky in 1983-84.
• UC held Marquette to 4-of-26 shooting, a .154 percentage.

Jermaine Tate dunks against Marquette during the first half Sunday.
(AP photo)
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• The Golden Eagles went through 15 possessions and 12:12 of the first half before getting a basket from one of their offensive sets. That was a Cliff 3-pointer from the left wing that made it 23-5.
When Marquette looked as though it was vanquished, however, the Bearcats once again relented. They were outscored 22-6 over the first eight min utes of the second half, and the lead that once stood at 27 points was shaved to 11.
The Bearcats immediately stretched it back to 19 points with a 10-2 surge that included five points by Mickeal.
The Golden Eagles stayed with that zone, however, and UC struggled to find the seams. Marquette point guard Cordell Henry keyed a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a driving pass to center John Mueller for a layup that cut the lead to 58-49 with 5:40 left.
UC stretched its lead back to a comfortable margin by pushing the ball on the break, taking advantage of its athleticism in a manner that disappeared in the early part of the second half.
The Bearcats stormed to the sort of early lead that has become their trademark, even during the four-game malaise that saw them shoot under .500 from the field and win by no more than 20 points. Against Marquette, they scored the first seven points and opened a 17-2 advantage by the 13:43 mark.
On offense, UC passed the ball with a zeal missing since early this month. Of the Bearcats' first eight baskets, six came from assists. And it wasn't just the point guards. Center Kenyon Martin had no points, but two assists. Power forward Ryan Fletcher passed for two before his first basket, a baseline jumper off an inbounds play that made it 29-5.

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