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CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- No. 12 Cincinnati showed Charlotte what payback is all about. Leonard Stokes scored 19 points as the Bearcats extended the nation's longest winning streak to 14 games and remained unbeaten in Conference USA home openers with a 71-58 victory over the 49ers. Cincinnati has won or shared the conference title in each of the league's six previous seasons but was upset by Charlotte in last year's Conference USA championship game. But the Bearcats made short work of their opponent in the rematch. Cincinnati (14-1, 2-0 C-USA) scored 11 of the game's first 13 points led by Stokes, who made two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup in the first 2:06. The Bearcats never relinquished the lead, but the 49ers responded with a 10-2 run. Cam Stephens scored the first five points of the burst and Charlotte closed within 13-12 on a pair of free throws from Kevin Johnson with 13:03 left. Freshman Jason Maxiell scored 11 of his 15 points during a 23-6 run as Cincinnati pulled away. The Bearcats had a 40-24 halftime lead and the 49ers never got closer than 10 in the final 20 minutes. "I thought we played great, especially in the first half," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. "I thought we played as good a defense as we've played in a long time. Cincinnati has not lost since dropping its season opener at then-No. 18 Oklahoma State on November 16 and improved to 6-0 in conference home openers since joining Conference USA. Stokes made 6-of-10 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, for Cincinnati, which shot just 37 percent (23-of-62) but made 6-of-17 3-pointers. Steve Logan scored 13 points and Donald Little added nine and 11 rebounds as the Bearcats held a 47-39 rebounding edge. "Once again, we fell short of Cincinnati," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "They are the most physical team we've seen. We knew how tough it would be, but they destroyed us on the boards." Logan, who was the 11th leading scorer in the nation entering the game, made just 4-of-12 shots. "Steve is a great player," Huggins said. "We talked as a team that we need to have more balance if we're going to make some noise in the league. He give up a lot of offense to give the other guys opportunity to score and create opportunities." Stephens finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds and Jobey Thomas was held to 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting for Charlotte (7-5, 1-1), which shot 29 percent (18-of-61) and made 3-of-19 3-pointers. Thomas, who is one of just eight players in conference history with 1,400 career points, was conference player of the week for the week ending January 6. "I knew they were going to be tough," he said. "They play tough and physical and made it tough for us to run our offense and for me to get the ball." . |
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