By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Marquette v. UC Bearcats

MILWAUKEE - The last time they visited the Bradley Center, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats watched joyous Marquette fans erupt after the Golden Eagles wrested the Conference USA championship away from UC for the first time in eight years.

The UC players vowed there would be no Marquette fans celebrating this time, then backed it up Wednesday night with an 85-73 victory over the 21st-ranked Golden Eagles (11-3, 2-1 Conference USA) before 18,317 fans, none of whom was celebrating as the final seconds ticked away.

"We feel like they have something that belongs to us," junior guard Nick Williams said. "That's the conference title. They have something that we want."

Not only did the Bearcats exact the revenge they were looking for, they did it in a fashion that once again displayed their depth. They also showed they can win in a variety of ways.

"We were ready to play," said UC coach Bob Huggins. "They were looking for a challenge."

The 10th-ranked Bearcats (12-0, 3-0) played without starting forward Armein Kirkland, who was dressed in street clothes because of a sprained left knee. They got only four points from leading scorer Jason Maxiell, who averages 15.4 points a game.

But they received stellar performances from center Kareem Johnson, guard Nick Williams and reserve forward Eric Hicks, who scored 15 points with 10 rebounds, the second double-double of his UC career.

Tony Bobbitt scored 18 points to lead the Bearcats. Nick Williams scored a career-high 16 points and Johnson scored 11 points with six rebounds.

"We didn't play like we should have," Hicks said. "We played a little sloppy, but we ended up getting the job done."

The win ended a three-game UC losing streak at the Bradley Center, where Marquette had won 38 of its last 39 games.

In contrast to most of their victories, this one was a plodding, grind-it-out halfcourt affair rather the one the wide-open transition style UC has favored.

The Bearcats pressed Marquette and point guard Travis Diener as promised, and although they didn't get much out of their transition game, they still forced 23 turnovers.

"The first half was bad," said Diener, who committed five turnovers to go with 19 points and nine assists. "We had 16 turnovers in the first half. I take responsibility for that. I just didn't make the right decisions, and they took advantage of that."

Thanks largely to yeoman work by Hicks on the offensive glass, the Bearcats led at halftime 34-25, then spread the lead to 50-35 on a Field Williams trey with 12:24 to go.

But the Golden Eagles were not about to succumb without a fight on their home court, especially against UC.

With the Bearcats obliging by repeatedly fouling the Marquette players, the Golden Eagles got to within eight points with 10:08 to go and the crowd roaring for a comeback.

Bobbitt then connected on a baseline jump shot that might have been the biggest shot of the game for UC. Marquette committed turnovers on its next two possessions and the Bearcats took advantage of them with a Field Williams three and a Hicks dunk off an offensive rebound to get the lead back to 15.

"I don't know who or when," Huggins said, "but I do expect somebody to eventually make some shots."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

Cincinnati	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
White	22	1	7	1	2	4	3	4	4	3
Maxiell	19	1	4	2	4	5	0	5	0	4
Johnson	25	4	5	3	4	6	2	3	0	11
F.Williams	38	3	11	4	6	3	1	2	1	13
N.Williams	28	5	11	3	3	2	4	5	4	16
Moore	5	0	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	0
Lucas	6	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	0	0
Hicks	24	6	8	3	6	10	1	3	3	15
Bobbitt	23	5	11	6	9	2	1	1	1	18
Whaley	10	2	3	1	2	1	0	3	0	5
Totals	200	27	61	23	38	35	14	28	14	85

Team rebounds - 2.

Marquette	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Novak	33	6	10	0	0	7	1	1	4	17
Sanders	13	0	1	0	0	2	0	4	3	0
Merritt	36	4	10	8	9	6	1	5	3	16
Chapman	16	1	4	2	4	0	1	2	2	5
Diener	36	4	11	7	8	2	9	4	5	19
Townsend	22	1	5	0	0	1	1	4	0	2
Bradley	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Mason	26	4	6	5	5	3	0	4	5	13
Grimm	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0
Jackson	5	0	0	1	2	1	0	3	0	1
Totals	200	20	48	23	28	23	13	30	22	73

Team rebounds - 5.

Cincinnati	34	51	-85
Marquette	25	48	-73

3-pointers - UC 8-21 (White 0-1, F.Williams 3-9, N.Williams 3-3, Moore 0-1, Bobbitt 2-7), M 10-23 (Novak 5-9, Chapman 1-4, Diener 4-7, Townsend 0-3). Technicals - M (the bench). Officials - N/A. Attendance - 18, 317.