Kenny Satterfield led UC with 27 points - a career high. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        The real season with a real opponent proved to be a real eye-opener for the University of Cincinnati on Saturday night.

        The 17th-ranked Bearcats defeated Boise State 73-61, but they did not look like the high-octane team that shot 63 percent and averaged 124 points in two exhibition games.

        They missed 11 free throws. They turned over the ball 14 times (and had just 12 assists). They watched the Broncos grab 15 offensive rebounds. They gave up open shots.

        Welcome to the Real World, Cincinnati.

        “We won, but we didn't win the way we should've won,” sophomore Kenny Satterfield said. “We didn't play well at all.”

Jamaal Davis had 11 points. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Said UC coach Bob Huggins: “We weren't very good at either end of the floor. We just didn't play with much passion defensively, which is kind of uncharacteristic of us.”

        It was clear the preseason games, which UC won by an average of 61 points, did little to prepare the Bearcats (1-0) for the regular season. The final 12-point margin Saturday is not indicative of how close the game was.

        UC won by outscoring the Broncos 18-4 in the final 7:54. During that span, Boise State (0-1) was just 2-of-6 from the field with seven turnovers.

        “Sometimes who you're playing has something to do with that,” Boise State coach Rod Jensen said. “We gave ourselves a chance. ... But that's what good programs do, they come charging back.”

        Satterfield led that charge. He scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half, including 12 in the final 8¹/₂ minutes.

Immanuel McElroy had six assists. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The game was up for grabs with six minutes left. Boise State was ahead 57-55 when UC tied it on a Jamaal Davis layup off an Immanuel McElroy pass inside. That started a decisive 16-2 UC run.

        After an airball by the Broncos, Satterfield scored on a short running jumper to put the Bearcats ahead for good (59-57) with 5:44 remaining. Then came another Boise miss and foul on the rebound. Davis tipped in a Satterfield miss. Richard Morgan nailed a jumper to pull the Broncos within 61-59 with 4:55 to go, but that was as close as they would get.

        Satterfield hit a 3. Leonard Stokes made one of two free throws. Stokes stole the ball, went all the way and dunked. Satterfield hit a runner off the glass from the left side.

        It was 69-59 Cincinnati. Time out Boise.

        Game over.

Donald Little had 11 points. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        “The last seven minutes, we all just pulled it in,” Stokes said. “During the timeout, we said we were going to give it all we've got for this last seven minutes, and we're not going to lose.”

        The Bearcats won their 35th consecutive home opener and 21st in a row overall. UC is 81-18 in season openers.

        Stokes scored a career-high 13 points, Donald Little a career-high 12 and Davis a career-high 11 on 5-of-5 shooting (it was his first game). Little also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, Satterfield tied his career best with nine rebounds, and McElroy had a team-high six assists.

        UC led 32-28 after a lethargic first half during which Steve Logan, who finished with just seven points, and Satterfield were a combined 3-of-14 from the field with three assists and three turnovers.

        Huggins must have had plenty to say to his troops, because the Bearcats did not get back on the court until there were just 32 seconds left before the second half was to start. Huggins said his messages were: Play harder and play more together.

        “I thought we were trying to do too many things on our own,” he said. “If this team is going to be very good, we're going to have to really share the wealth.

        “I'm a little bit surprised by how poor our spacing was offensively. But it's my fault. We hadn't spent a whole lot of time on it in the last five or six days ...”

        BOISE ST. (0-1) — Nabors 6-9 0-0 12, Jackson 6-15 0-1 17, Morgan 5-8 3-4 13, Skiffer 0-3 2-2 2, Woods 1-9 0-0 3, DeFares 1-2 0-0 2, Hordemann 1-3 0-0 2, Armstrong 5-7 0-0 10, Tillman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 5-7 61.

        CINCINNATI (1-0) — Davis 5-5 1-2 11, Stokes 5-12 2-5 13, Little 6-7 0-2 12, Satterfield 10-18 5-6 27, Logan 3-12 1-4 7, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, McElroy 1-1 1-2 3, Grove 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 10-21 73.

        Halftime—Cincinnati 32, Boise St. 28. 3-Point goals—Boise St. 6-20 (Jackson 5-12, Woods 1-3, Armstrong 0-1, Skiffer 0-2, Hordemann 0-2), Cincinnati 3-11 (Satterfield 2-5, Stokes 1-3, Williams 0-1, Logan 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Boise St. 36 (Jackson 14), Cincinnati 9 (Satterfield, Little 9). Assists—Boise St. 13 (Skiffer 4), Cincinnati 12 (McElroy 6). Total fouls—Boise St. 18, Cincinnati 13. A—12,681.

Bearcats 'bowl' over So. Miss UC's defense takes over UC 73, Boise State 61 Injured Jones counting on early return

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