By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Field Williams isn't the type to go running over to television color analyst Dick Vitale after making a shot.

Williams, a senior guard from Houston, is one of the quietest players on the University of Cincinnati basketball team. He always maintains an even keel, whether he's shooting well or whether he's in a slump, as he has been recently.

But he had a reason for seeking out Vitale after making the shot that sent UC's 66-61 victory into overtime Saturday.

The night before the game, the Bearcats were talking with Vitale in their hotel.

"We were joking around with him," Williams said. "We told him that he loves Duke. I told him they should have named him Duke Vitale. We just wanted him to show us some love when we came out to play Louisville."

As soon as he made the shot, Williams thought it was a 3-pointer to win the game, so he sought out Vitale for that love he had requested the night before.

"That's the most excited I've ever seen him," said UC assistant coach Keith LeGree said of Williams.

Williams didn't know he had his foot on the 3-point line, making the goal a 2-pointer, which meant the game wasn't over yet.

Williams, who needs 88 points to become the 41st player in UC history to reach 1,000 for his career, took a little ribbing from his teammates for his unusual display of effervescence. But he was making no apologies Monday as the Bearcats began preparations for Wednesday night's game against Saint Louis at Fifth Third Arena.

"That's the first time I made a shot like that to send the game into overtime," Williams said. "That's something that's going to stay with me for the rest of my life."

Williams, whose 39.4 percent career 3-point shooting mark leaves him tied with Darnell Burton for the best in school history, had been in a protracted shooting slump before the Louisville game. In his previous seven games, he shot 30.5 percent from the field, 30.2 percent from 3-point range.

Williams was 4-for-10 against Louisville, 3-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc, and finished with 18 points, his highest total since he scored 24 points against Coppin State Nov. 29.

Before Friday's practice, he had been working on the exact shot that tied the game. He would receive a pass on the wing, pump-fake, then dribble in a few steps to release the ball.

Williams' approach was an example of a player working to pull himself out of a slump - not just by throwing up a bunch of shots, but by practicing with a purpose.

"It just goes to show you that a little bit of work can win you a game," LeGree said.

It also goes to show that even a laid-back, even-tempered player like Field Williams can get carried away given the right circumstances.

What was Vitale's reaction to Williams' celebration?

"He just told me the next time I run over there, don't slap his hands so hard and knock the papers out of his hand," Williams said.

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com