By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS - Logic dictated that the University of Cincinnati Bearcats would hold the ball for a final shot.
With 32 seconds left, the shot clock off and the Bearcats in possession of the ball in a tie game, the worst that could happen was overtime, assuming UC didn't turn over the ball.
But logic often goes out the window when senior guard Tony Bobbitt is on the floor.
When the Bearcats in-bounded the ball into Armein Kirkland's hands, they found Kirkland being double-teamed by East Tennessee State.
That changed everything.
Kirkland passed to Jason Maxiell in the high post, then Maxiell fired a pass to Bobbitt in the left corner.
Bobbitt let fly with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left that fell through the net to give No. 4 seed UC an 80-77 victory Friday over No. 13 seed East Tennessee State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Atlanta Regional at Nationwide Arena.
East Tennessee State (27-6) had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but elected to go inside and missed three shots around the basket before Maxiell snared a rebound and secured the win for 11th-ranked UC.
It's the second straight year that East Tennessee State has lost by three points to a better-seeded team in the first round. Last year, the Bucs fell to Wake Forest 76-73.
The Bearcats were relieved to escape with the victory.
"They're good," UC coach Bob Huggins said of ETSU. "I think the coaches understand how good they are. They just don't get the same kind of exposure that other teams get."
The Bearcats (25-6), winners of five straight, will face No. 5 seed Illinois (25-6), the regular-season champion of the Big Ten, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.
Bobbitt said he had no hesitation about taking UC's last shot when he did.
"They went out and trapped Armein with the ball," Bobbitt said. "Field's on one side and myself on the other side. Max stepped up and met the ball. When he caught the ball, he's taught to look opposite. They always tell you, pump-fake, get him in the air and shoot it in with confidence. That's what happened.
"If I wouldn't have taken it that early, I probably wouldn't have gotten a better look."
Bobbitt's shot was made possible by forward Eric Hicks, who rebounded a previous Bobbitt 3-point attempt that missed the mark, enabling UC to keep possession with 40.9 seconds left and the score tied at 77.
A foul by ETSU's James Anthony gave UC the ball out of bounds with 32 seconds left, giving the Bearcats the option of playing for one last shot.
UC, which once led 11-0, had to withstand a furious final seven minutes during which neither team led by more than three points and the score was tied five times.
The Bearcats outrebounded ETSU 45-38 and limited the Bucs to 39.2 percent shooting, but were virtually helpless to stop Tim Smith, East Tennessee State's electrifying 5-foot-9 point guard, who led all scorers with 26 points.
"He's like Michael Vick with the basketball," said UC guard Field Williams, who led UC with 19 points. "You try to make him go right, but he's so quick, he goes left regardless."
The Bearcats had the same amount of field goals as the Bucs and made four fewer free throws, but won the game from long range, making 13 of 32 3-point attempts - both season highs - to ETSU's 6-of-23 shooting.
UC's bench outscored ETSU's 40-7, as the Bearcats won their first-round game for the 11th time in 13 tries under Huggins.
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| E.Tenn. St. | M | FG | Att | FT | Att | R | A | F | TO | TP |
| Fields | 40 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| Wadood | 37 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| Rhoda | 14 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Smith | 40 | 10 | 25 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 26 |
| Anthony | 30 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Scott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Strong | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Nuckles | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Totals | 200 | 29 | 74 | 13 | 20 | 36 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 77 |
Team rebounds - 2.
| Cincinnati | M | FG | Att | FT | Att | R | A | F | TO | TP |
| Kirkland | 26 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Maxiell | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Johnson | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| F.Williams | 36 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| White | 26 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| N.Williams | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Hicks | 25 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Bobbitt | 25 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| Whaley | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Moore | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 29 | 62 | 9 | 11 | 42 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 80 |
Team rebounds - 3.
| East Tennessee State | 40 | 37 | -77 |
| Cincinnati | 45 | 35 | -80 |
3-pointers - ETS 6-23 (Fields 0-2, Wadood 2-6, Rhoda 0-1, Smith 2-7, Anthony 1-3, Strong 1-3, Nuckles 0-1), UC 13-32 (Kirkland 0-1, F.Williams 5-13, White 0-3, N.Williams 3-3, Bobbitt 5-12). Technicals - None. Officials - N/A. Attendance - 19,588.
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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com
