By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Leonard Stokes scored 15 straight points in the second half. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

Taron Barker was waiting for Leonard Stokes to take over. Actually, he ordered it.

With the University of Cincinnati Bearcats struggling through an 0-for-15 shooting drought midway through the second half, Barker turned to Stokes and told him it was time.

"I told him, `Lenny, you've got to step up,'" Barker said. "It's crunch time, do-or-die for both of us. We've got to play."

Stokes got the message.

UC's senior forward scored 15 straight points, leading the 23rd-ranked Bearcats to a 54-48 victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday night at Shoemaker Center.

It was UC's lowest offensive output since last Jan.22 when the Bearcats won at Saint Louis, 54-50.

What heart attack? Bob Huggins jumps off the bench. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

UC (1-0) has won 37 straight home openers.

Tennessee Tech (0-1), the defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion, was playing its first game under rookie head coach Mike Sutton.

Stokes led UC with 21 points. Barker, who scored 12, was the Bearcats' only other double-figure scorer. His 3-pointer off a Field Williams pass with 1:10 to go gave UC a 47-43 lead.

But it was Stokes who came to the rescue after the Bearcats had played more than nine minutes without scoring.

"I just didn't want to lose," Stokes said. "We were running plays for me. I kept being able to turn the corner. I was able to get to the basket."

For UC coach Bob Huggins, the sluggish offense provided support for what he has been saying during the preseason - that this team has some glaring deficiencies.

Do you believe me now?" he said. "We have a hard time scoring the ball."

Stokes drives. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

Huggins said the plays that were run for Stokes down the stretch were the same ones he used to call for Nick Van Exel, Keith LeGree, Kenny Satterfield and Steve Logan.

"You give the ball to your best player and let him make plays," he said.

UC shot only 27.9 percent, its lowest percentage since Jan.29, 1994, when the Bearcats made only 29.2 percent of their shots against DePaul.

They were outrebounded 43-42 but still managed to eke out the victory, thanks to 17 Tech turnovers to just nine for UC. The Bearcats took 68 shots to Tech's 50.

UC received quality play at both the point guard and center positions, the two biggest areas of concern during the preseason.

Taron Barker celebrates a three-pointer. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

Barker had four turnovers and just two assists, but he ran the offense with confidence and repeatedly set up his teammates for open looks that they failed to convert.

"They don't give you assists for throwing it to people who miss," Huggins said.

Junior Kareem Johnson was the most effective of the Bearcats' three centers, coming off the bench to grab eight rebounds in 17 minutes. He also scored four points.

After leading 27-23 at halftime, Jason Maxiell scored the first basket of the second half to give UC a six-point lead. Then the offense shut down.

Huggins continued to search for offense, but nothing worked until Stokes finally broke the drought with a layup at the 10:02 mark. Then after a Tech turnover, Stokes scored again on a driving layup that drew UC to within one and energized the crowd.

Jason Maxiell scrambles for a rebound. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

Another Stokes basket, this one on a baseline jump shot, again pulled UC to within one with 7:41 to go, and a conventional three-point play off another driving layup gave the Bearcats a 40-38 lead with 5:49 left.

"We made him make two or three tough shots," Sutton said. "But he just took the game over."

UC didn't get much from either Williams or Maxiell, both of whom are expected to shoulder more of the offense as the season progresses.

Williams scored only five points on 2-of-14 shooting. Maxiell fouled out after scoring only six points on 2-of-12 shooting. He didn't have a rebound in the first half and finished with just two.

"When we play against teams in the top 20, we can't afford to do things like that," Stokes said. "Or it could get real ugly."

It was ugly enough Saturday.

Tech coach Mike Sutton saw enough of Leonard Stokes. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

NOTES: UC forward Eugene Land made his first appearance in a UC game since March12, 1999, when he played 18 minutes against George Mason in the East Regional. He entered Saturday's game at the 12:11 mark of the first half and received a round of applause from the crowd. Land didn't score but had two rebounds in nine minutes.

Freshman Tony Bobbitt connected on his first shot as a Bearcat, a 3-pointer from the baseline with 12:49 left in the first half, but then missed his next six shots.... The Bearcats play Florida A&M on Tuesday night at Shoemaker Center.

Tenn. Tech	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Perkins	24	1	4	0	0	3	1	3	0	3
Kinloch	28	1	6	2	5	7	2	3	4	4
Morgan	22	5	7	3	4	4	1	4	3	13
Jolly	35	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	0	0
Crisp	38	6	14	1	2	7	3	1	2	16
Richardson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
Strange	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Clark	2	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Boyd	9	2	4	0	0	2	0	0	3	4
Harrell	24	2	7	1	3	4	3	5	4	6
Jones	14	1	5	0	0	3	1	3	0	2
Totals	200	18	50	7	14	43	13	21	17	48

Team rebounds - 10.

UC	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Stokes	37	7	20	7	9	2	5	0	0	21
Maxiell	29	2	12	2	2	2	1	5	1	6
Hollman	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
Williams	33	2	14	0	0	6	1	2	0	5
Barker	37	4	8	2	2	4	2	3	4	12
Land	9	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Hicks	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Bobbitt	13	1	6	0	0	5	0	0	1	3
Flowers	17	1	2	1	4	7	0	3	1	3
Johnson	17	2	4	0	1	8	0	2	1	4
Totals	200	19	68	12	18	42	9	19	8	54

Team rebounds - 6.

Tennessee Tech	23	25	--48
Cincinnati	27	27	--54

3-pointers - Tennessee Tech 5-15 (Perkins 1-1, Jolly 0-2, Crisp 3-6, Boyd 0-1, Harrell 1-5), UC 4-22 (Stokes 0-5, Williams 1-9, Barker 2-2, Bobbitt 1-6). Technicals - None. Officials - Curtis Shaw, Gerry Pollard, Kerry Sitton. Attendance - 11,981.

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