By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - For 10 minutes against the University of Cincinnati on Jan.25, Charlotte's Demon Brown played as well as anyone ever has at Shoemaker Center.

He scored 20 points in 10 minutes to start the second half, knocking down 6 3-pointers, often with a UC defender in his face, to lead a 49ers comeback.

Then, just as quickly as he started making shots, he stopped. UC shut him down the rest of the game and held on to win 83-79.

"We let him get going," UC coach Bob Huggins said. "We let him make shots and let him get some confidence going."

There's no secret, then, where UC's focus was this week as it prepared for today's 7 p.m. rematch against the 49ers (9-12, 4-5 Conference USA) at Halton Arena.

No extensive scouting report was required to hammer the message home.

"Contain Demon Brown and you've got the win," forward Jason Maxiell said.

The Bearcats (14-6, 6-3) haven't played since they upset then-No.11 Oklahoma State on Sunday to end their three-game losing streak and seemingly cement their NCAA Tournament hopes.

But the UC players can't afford to relax despite the magnitude of that win and the sense of relief that accompanied it.

"We're not in the tournament yet," Huggins said.

In other words, with seven games left in the regular season plus the C-USA Tournament in Louisville, this team still has much work to do.

Louisville's unexpected loss to Saint Louis on Wednesday night put UC back into the C-USA regular-season title picture. The Bearcats are two losses behind both Louisville and Marquette, with one game remaining against each.

Meanwhile, Louisville and Marquette, which meet today in Milwaukee, have two games remaining with each other. If they split and UC wins out, the Bearcats will claim a share of the championship - their eighth straight - assuming they don't slip against someone else.

But first things first. If UC doesn't take care of business against Charlotte, Saint Louis and the other remaining league opponents, those showdowns with Louisville and Marquette won't mean as much.

And taking care of business today means finding a way to curtail Brown, who averages 18.1 points a game and leads the nation in 3-pointers per game with 5.04.

It was after the first Charlotte game when Huggins first pointed to a defensive slippage that manifested itself again in UC's loss at DePaul and the beginning of the three-game losing streak.

The 49ers shot 59 percent against the Bearcats in the second half and scored 28 points on shots coming off screens the Bearcats didn't defend well.

"We can't let Brown get started," UC's Leonard Stokes said. "Don't give him open shots. We have to try to not let them get in a rhythm on offense. We have to play like we did (against Oklahoma State)."

This has been a down season for Charlotte, which usually battles the Bearcats late into the season for the conference championship.

The 49ers, who have used four different lineups in their last five games, have been close in many of their losses, including a three-point loss to Marquette. But they can't seem to deliver when they need late baskets.

One problem is a lack of offensive balance. Charlotte's only double-figure scorer besides Brown is forward Curtis Withers, who averages 10.0 points.

"We're not far away from winning games," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "But unfortunately, coming close isn't good enough. That's been the story of the whole year. I'd be lying if I said we were a real confident team right now."

The Bearcats regained a measure of their confidence with that win over Oklahoma State, but they're braced for a difficult time tonight, especially in a building where the fans always treat the UC players with vocal disdain.

"It's going to be hostile," Stokes said. "Wherever we play on the road is rough, but that place is especially rough. We've got to stick together."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

Lineups:

CINCINNATI	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Leonard Stokes	Sr.	6-6	16.3
Jason Maxiell	So.	6-7	12.5
Kareem Johnson	Jr.	6-7	2.2
Field Williams	Jr.	6-3	13.0
Taron Barker	Sr.	6-1	6.5

Coach: Bob Huggins (346-106, 14th season; 514-178 overall).

CHARLOTTE	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Curtis Withers	Fr.	6-8	10.0
Vincent Grier	Fr.	6-6	5.1
Tory Reed	Jr.	6-8	4.2
Demon Brown	Jr.	6-1	18.1
Mitchell Baldwin	Fr.	6-2	4.6

Coach: Bobby Lutz (89-62, fifth season; 270-153 overall).