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University of Houston
Cincinnati
Cougars Fall To No. 21 Cincinnati, 87-68
1/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2005
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) - James White scored a career-high 25 points, making every type of shot, and added 10 rebounds Saturday night to lead No. 21 Cincinnati to an 87-68 victory over Houston.
Jason Maxiell also had 10 rebounds, 14 points and eight blocks, helping the Bearcats (17-3, 6-1 Conference USA) roll to their 10th straight victory over a team they traditionally dominate. Houston (12-9, 3-4) is 1-22 against Cincinnati, which leaves next season for the Big East.
The game provided the first head-to-head matchup of two of Division I's most successful coaches. Cincinnati's Bob Huggins has 559 career wins, while Tom Penders - in his first season rebuilding Houston's program - has 539.
Huggins had a whole lot more to work with in this one.
White had the best all-around game of his career. The quick 6-foot-7 forward tied his career high for 3-pointers by going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and repeatedly drove past defenders for pull-up jumpers or layups. White was 9-of-12 overall from the field.
White's running reverse dunk off an alley-oop pass from Jihad Muhammad made it 56-32 and brought the crowd of 12,365 to its feet.
Maxiell came up two blocks short of the 15th triple-double in Cincinnati's history. Andre Owens led Houston with 26 points.
It was another dominating effort by Cincinnati's man-to-man defense, which holds opponents to 35.8 percent from the field, second-best in the nation. Houston shot only 32.9 percent.
The Bearcats also had pronounced advantages in rebounds (51-36) and free throws, going 25-of-36 from the line while the Cougars were 11-of-17.
Houston opened the game by hitting a pair of wide-open shots, getting the Bearcats' attention. One of the nation's stingiest defenses dug in, holding Houston to 1-for-13 shooting over the next seven minutes. Four of the Cougars' shots were swatted away emphatically.
Nick Williams made a pair of 3-pointers and a three-point play during that span, leading a 19-5 run that put the Bearcats in control the rest of the way. They led by 17 points at halftime, dominating every facet of the game.
Houston, the conference's worst rebounding team, tried to keep up by fouling, a huge mistake. Forward Ramon Dyer, the Cougars' leading rebounder, had three fouls in the opening 3:25, sending him to the bench.
Cincinnati was in the bonus at the 15:44 mark of the half, and Penders sandwiched his face between his hands and shook his head forlornly after Dwight Jones II picked up the team's 10th foul less than 10 minutes into the game.
At that moment, Penders knew it was going to be a long night for his team, which is 3-4 since upsetting Louisville on Jan. 5.
