No. 8 Cincinnati Too Much for Pirates
January 29, 2004 | Men's Basketball
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Tony Bobbitt made a pair of 3-pointers in the span of half a minute to spark No. 8 Cincinnati to an 80-57 victory Wednesday night over East Carolina.
The Pirates, who have never won a road game in Conference USA since joining the league three years ago, took advantage of Cincinnati's slow start to stay within 10 points until Bobbitt's 3-pointers gave Cincinnati a 26-13 lead with 8:08 left in the half.
Up to that point, Cincinnati had missed 11 of its first 15 shots. But Bobbitt's shots started a 16-4 run, and East Carolina did not hit another field goal for 5 1/2 minutes.
A steal at midcourt by James White in the closing seconds, and his slam dunk off a breakaway drive, gave Cincinnati a 43-25 lead at halftime.
The Bearcats returned to their sluggish ways in the second half, scoring just six points in the first six minutes. But a worn-down East Carolina could not challenge, and a jumper by Jason Maxiell with seven minutes remaining gave Cincinnati its biggest lead at 72-42.
White finished with 15 points for Cincinnati (15-1, 6-1 CUSA). Maxiell had 14, and Robert Whaley 10.
Derrick Wiley had 18 points for East Carolina (8-8, 0-6), which has lost seven straight. Mike Cook added 14.
Cincinnati's pressing defense forces an average of 22 turnovers per game, and had 11 in the first half, but got just three more the rest of the way.
