Cats snag Pirates' booty
The University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 62-57.
By Michael Wylie | Published: 02/19/12 7:19pm | Updated: 02/20/12 12:23pm | No comments
The University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team put up a solid 40-minute effort Saturday night to improve its conference standings and earn a win at a pivotal time in the season, defeating the Seton Hall Pirates 62-57 at Fifth Third Arena.
Senior guard Dion Dixon — who finished with 20 points and six rebounds — led the Bearcats (19-8, 9-5 Big East) in scoring.
Cincinnati came out firing shots on offense, as they opened the game on an 18-4 run and used stellar three-point shooting — they were 7-of-12 from behind-the-arc — to secure the lead at the half, 37-28.
The Cats would lead by as many as 14 points for the second time early in the second half before the Pirates cut the lead to as little as four points twice in the last 30 seconds.
Seton Hall was forced to foul Cincinnati in the last minute of play, but the Bearcats sealed the game with a pair of free throws from Dixon and another from junior guard JaQuon Parker, who had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Head coach Mick Cronin was particularly impressed with Parker’s well-rounded style of play.
“You can’t play four guards without him,” Cronin said. “He is a guard on offense and plays twice his size on defense. That is where I have to do a better job in recruiting. I need more guys with his toughness.”
With Saturday’s performance, Dixon moved into 28th place on UC’s all-time scoring list with 1667 points, passing Tom Thacker (1152).
Cronin was proud of his sophomore guard, but still wants him to improve.
“He was aggressive. There is no doubt about that,” Cronin said. “I have to do a better job with him on making shots inside the paint. He was 3-for-10 inside the paint.”
Seton Hall (18-9, 7-8 Big East) outscored the Cats in the paint 34-16 and were led in scoring by Fuquan Edwin and Jordan Theodore, who had 15 points each.
Cincinnati, however, is 12-1 this season when hitting eight or more three-pointers in a game and were able to capitalize on their effort from the outside.
The Cats will play No.19 Louisville Thursday night at Fifth Third Arena, where they’ll work toward closing out the season strong in hopes of improving their seed in the Big East Tournament and securing a spot in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Tipoff is at 9 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
