Syracuse University
Cincinnati
Bearcats Outrebound Orange by 19 in 82-65 Win
2/15/2006 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior forward Cedric McGowan tallied a career-high 19 points, while senior guard Jihad Muhammad also scored 19 in an 82-65 Cincinnati victory against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. The Bearcats outscored the Orange in the second half, 42-24, and held a decisive 44-25 rebounding margin.
Cincinnati improved its record to 17-9 overall, 6-6 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Syracuse's record is now 17-8, 5-6 in the league.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, with Syracuse hitting 50 percent of its shots (16-of-32) and Cincinnati connecting on 47 percent of its attempts (16-of-34). The Bearcats led by as many seven points three times, 15-8, 36-29 and 38-31. Eric Hicks followed up a Devan Downey missed layup with a slam dunk to give the Bearcats a 38-31 lead with 3:21 remaining in the first half. The Orange closed out the period with a 9-2 run, including the last seven points, to take a 41-40 halftime lead.
Junior forward Demetris Nichols scored 12 first-half points (four 3-pointers) and had five rebounds, while James White paced the Bearcats with 12 points (5-of-7 field goals). Freshman guard Eric Devendorf had 11 of his team-high 15 points for SU in the first half.
Cincinnati jumped all over Syracuse on the defensive end, limiting the Orange to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field (9-of-27) in the second half. In the meantime, Hicks and White scored the first six points to take a 46-41 advantage less than two minutes into the second stanza.
Freshman guard Devan Downey had two pullup jumpers and a three pointer from the top of the key with 11:55 remaining to give the Bearcats a nine-point lead, 62-53. Downey finished the contest with 16 points and seven assists.
SU senior forward Matt Gorman came off the bench to register a career-high 10 points. With less than 15 minutes to go, he converted a three-point play, nailed a three pointer off a pass from Gerry McNamara and scored off an offensive rebound. The putback basket pulled the Orange within five points, 64-59, with 9:13 left to play.
During the next six minutes, Cincinnati went on a 15-2 run. Muhammad led the charge with six points. He cashed in on a three-point play following a steal and nailed a 3-pointer with 4:28 remaining to put the Bearcats on top by 18, 79-61. With 1:36 remaining, Muhammad drained his fourth 3 to give UC its largest lead of the night, 82-63.
McNamara finished the game with 14 points and five assists, while Nichols ended up with 13 points.
White scored 18 points for Cincinnati, while Hicks was the game's leading rebounder with 11 caroms. He also tallied eight points and had five blocks.
The Orange remain at home to face Louisville on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 9 p.m. ESPN College Game Day will be broadcasting from the Carrier Dome throughout the day.
