“For as poorly as we shot the ball, the fact that it was a 57-50 game, it was still right there,” said Cougar basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. | The Cougar Archives
The Cougar men’s basketball team broke their undefeated conference run at the hands of No. 22 Cincinnati, finishing 67-58. The Cougars fall to 12-4 on the season and 3-1 in the conference.
In front of an audience of 4,875 at Hofheinz Pavilion, The Cougars struggled beyond the arc. They made only 3 of their 19 3-point shots. Their disappointing performance culminated in a season-worst shooting percentage of 15.8% from distance.
On the other side of the court, the Bearcats made 10 of 24 shots from beyond the arc.
“We’ve got to get a third scorer,” said coach Kelvin Sampson, “That’s a struggle for us, getting somebody else that can be consistent, and that we can count on to be that third scorer.”
Guard Rob Gray returned after missing the Tulsa game with the flu. He led the Cougars in points with 21 and added 4 rebounds and 1 assist. He shot 0 for 7 from the 3-point line.
Coach Sampson said Gray hadn’t practiced since Saturday and only got a little practice in a day before the game.
The Cougars’ frontcourt struggled as well. Forward Danrad “Chicken” Knowles and center Kyle Meyer each ended the game with 2 points and 2 rebounds apiece. Knowles was on the court for only 15 minutes and Meyer for 12.
“We’d like to get a little bit more out of Chicken and Kyle,” said coach Sampson.
Damyean Dotson put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Wes Vanbeck contributed 11 points from the bench, and Galen Robinson Jr. added 10.
Each of the Bearcat starters scored double digits. Forward Kyle Washington dominated in the second half where he scored 16 of his 19 points.
Despite the loss, coach Sampson said he isn’t disappointed.
“No shame in losing to them,” he said, “There’s a reason they’re twenty-second in the nation.”
Although the Cougars didn’t see any luck from beyond the arc, the Bearcats never led by more than 11. The Cougars brought the score to 57-50 with 4:00 left on the clock, and the crowd energized at the possibility of a comeback.
Coach Sampson said he admired the Cougars’ effort on the court.
“I was very proud of our team,” he said, “Our kids really fought.”
The Cougars move next to Greenville, North Carolina to face the East Carolina Pirates. The Pirates are coming off an 81-62 loss to Temple and are on a three-game losing streak. The game is on Jan. 11 with tipoff scheduled at 5:00 p.m.
