Steve Logan fights through a double team. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        The Shoemaker Center had seen its share of nail-biters this season. Marshall. Xavier. Wake Forest. Marquette. Even Saint Louis. But the University of Cincinnati gave its home crowd one to relax and enjoy Saturday: a resounding 85-50 trouncing of Houston.

        Sure, the Cougars are the lowest ranked team in Conference USA in the Ratings Percentage Index (218). But the Bearcats took a 16-point halftime lead and actually built on it, never letting their opponent back in the game — as they have done so many times this season.

        UC treated 13,176 fans to fast breaks, nifty passing and 3-point fireworks during the second half. The deficit reached 37 with 5:28 to play.

        “We really tried to focus on putting them away,” sophomore Kenny Satter field said. “... and that's what we did. Everything was clicking. We were playing good defense and getting steals and pushing the ball in transition, and guys were making easy shots.”

Antwan Jones dives for a loose ball. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati has two regular-season games remaining. It still can earn at least a share of a sixth consecutive Conference USA title. Or, it could end up without a first-round bye in the league tournament.

        The Bearcats are 19-8, 9-5 C-USA.

        They are tied with Marquette, which lost to Louisville in triple overtime Saturday, for the American Division lead.

        UC, Marquette and Southern Mississippi are tied for third place in the overall conference standings, a half-game behind Memphis and South Florida, which play tonight.

        Cincinnati plays at South Florida on Thursday night, then at DePaul on Saturday. The two division winners and the two teams with the next-best records get byes in the conference tournament.

        “What's going to happen is going to happen,” UC junior Steve Logan said. “You've just got to be ready to play.”

Immanuel McElroy (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Some players said they would watch for the Mar quette-Louisville score Saturday night and watch the Memphis-South Florida game on TV tonight.

        “Just seeing if they're running any new type of plays, just (in case) we run into them at Louisville (in the conference tournament),” Satterfield said.

        “I'm a basketball fanatic,” Logan said. “When I'm not playing, I watch.”

        Logan, just 2-of-8 from the field in the first half, scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and finished 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 8-of-8 from the foul line. He went to the bench for good with 6:48 left.

        “I was struggling in the first half,” Logan said. “I was getting looks; I wasn't knocking them in. I just started relaxing.”

        Satterfield had 12 points and seven assists, and Immanuel McElroy scored 12 — his third straight game in double figures. UC had season highs of 12 3-point field goals and 26 attempts.

        “It was a lot of fun,” Logan said. “A lot of guys were involved. It makes you feel good to get up and down.”

Leonard Stokes (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Houston (7-19, 4-10) never really had a chance.

        The game started badly for the Cougars. In the first 3:55, they had no field-goal attempts, missed two free throws and had four turnovers.

        It got worse when freshman center Alton Ford, the only player to score in the first 7:48, picked up his second personal foul on an offensive charge with 13:52 left in the half. He went to the bench for almost seven minutes before getting back on the court. With 1:59 to go before intermission, he was called for his third foul going for an offensive rebound. He finished with a team-high 14 points and four rebounds but had six turnovers in 27 minutes.

        Stokes' 3-pointer at the buzzer sent UC into the locker room with a 35-19 halftime lead.

        UC has defeated Houston seven straight times and leads the series 19-1. It finishes 11-3 at Shoemaker Center this season, the most losses at home since 1994-95 when it also went 11-3.

Williams turns tide with pair of 3s
UC women lose to Louisville

HOUSTON (50)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Williams        37   2-9   0-0  2-10  3  1    4
Okafor          38   2-4   4-6   4-9  3  2    8
Ford            27   5-8   4-9   1-4  0  5   14
D Smith         30  3-11   1-2   0-1  3  1    9
Oliver          32   1-6   1-4   2-5  0  1    3
B Smith         15   1-3   0-0   0-2  0  1    2
Moore            1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Hendrick        20   4-7   1-3   0-2  0  2   10
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 18-48 11-24  9-33  9 13   50
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.375, FT-.458. 3-Point Goals:
3-9, .333 (Ford 0-1, D Smith 2-5, Oliver 0-1,
Hendrick 1-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2
(Oliver 2). Turnovers: 17 (Ford 6, D Smith 3,
Hendrick 2, Okafor 2, Oliver 2, B Smith,
Williams). Steals: 1 (D Smith).


CINCINNATI (85)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Davis           10   2-4   0-0   1-2  4  3    4
Mcelroy         26   4-6   4-6   1-3  2  0   12
Little          17   1-3   0-0   1-2  0  5    2
Satterfield     32   4-9   2-2   1-3  7  2   12
Logan           29  7-15   8-8   0-2  3  0   26
Williams        11   3-5   0-0   0-0  2  0    9
Jones           20   1-6   0-0   1-7  1  1    2
Stokes          22   4-8   1-2   1-5  2  3   11
Flowers          5   1-4   0-0   3-4  0  0    3
Crawford         9   0-2   0-0   0-1  0  2    0
Grove           19   2-5   0-2   3-7  0  2    4
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 29-67 15-20 12-36 21 18   85
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.433, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
12-26, .462 (Mcelroy 0-2, Satterfield 2-5, Logan
4-8, Williams 3-4, Jones 0-1, Stokes 2-4, Flowers
1-1, Crawford 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked
shots: 4 (Grove 3, Stokes). Turnovers: 7 (Little
2, Logan 2, Satterfield 2, Grove). Steals: 5
(Davis 2, Mcelroy, Satterfield, Stokes).
__________________________________
Houston            19   31  -   50
Cincinnati         35   50  -   85
__________________________________
Technical fouls: Houston 2 (Okafor, Bench).  A:
13,176. Officials: Larry Ware, Mike Thibodeaux,
Tom Eades.

---

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