Cincinnati Overcomes Surprises This Time

Damon Flint, Danny Fortson and Cincinnati made sure there would be no early exit this year.

The second-seeded Bearcats (26-4), disappointments in their previous two NCAA tournaments, opened up a big lead and managed to hold off North Carolina Greensboro, 66-61, Friday in the first round of the Southeast Regional.

“We’re just happy to be playing again Sunday,” Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins said. “It was not our best effort. They kept us off balance, and we really weren’t able to do what we wanted to do.”

Fortson, the Conference USA player of the year, banged away for 10 points, some of them set up from turnovers by Cincinnati’s trademark press. Averaging nearly 21 points, he struggled for all he got.

North Carolina Greensboro (20-10) showed up well in its first tournament appearance, scrambling to cut a 14-point deficit soon after halftime to 53-48 with 3 1/2 minutes left. But with the crowd sensing it was seeing this week’s next big upset, Cincinnati did not let the Big South champions come any closer.

The Bearcats advanced to a second-round meeting against Temple.

“We made some shots. When you make some shots, it splits the zone,” Huggins said of this season’s win. “But if they shoot it the way they shot it today, they’re good.”

Flint had 18 points and seven assists to lead the Bearcats. Scott Hartzell and Eric Cuthrell both scored 15 for the Spartans.

Cincinnati, expected by some to reach its second Final Four in five years, had not escaped its subregional in the last two seasons. The Bearcats were knocked out by Connecticut in the second round last year, and dropped their opener to Wisconsin in 1994.

Temple 61, Oklahoma 43--Temple doesn’t dazzle anyone. The Owls just win.

“If it takes ugliness to win a game, then the uglier the better,” forward Marc Jackson said after a victory over Oklahoma (17-13).

Oklahoma star Ryan Minor and his teammates were held to 32% shooting and their lowest point total of the season by a team that prides itself on overcoming offensive deficiencies with tenacious defense.

Temple (20-12) improved to 15-0 when holding teams below 40% from the field with its aggressive match-up zone and gave itself an unexpected boost by outshooting the high-scoring Sooners.

“When you play a team like Temple, they’re going to dictate the tempo all game,” said Minor, who was held to 15 points on six-for-20 shooting. “That’s what happened.”

The Owls led, 30-24, at the half and broke the game open after Oklahoma pulled within 39-37 with 12:45 to go. Marc Jackson and Levan Alston sparked a 22-6 run to finish the game and send Temple into the second round.

“I think the thing that surprised us the most was the team that shot the three-pointer was Temple,” Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson said.

Jackson and Alston led Temple with 14 points apiece as the Owls held Oklahoma to seven-for-27 shooting from beyond the arc and 32% overall.