Cumberland fills gap for punchless Cincy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin likes using boxing references to describe his team’s hard-nosed style.
The Bearcats waited until the final few rounds to deliver a knockout punch yesterday.
Jarron Cumberland set career highs with 27 points and 11 rebounds as Cincinnati recovered after blowing a 10-point lead in the second half to beat pesky Georgia State, 68-53, in the NCAA tournament.
“The key to our defense has been it’s almost like a 15-round fight,” Cronin said. “We feel the other team out. We make adjustments, and the kids do a great job with it. They step up their defensive intensity.”
Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, won its eighth game in a row and advanced to a matchup tomorrow against Nevada.
After trailing 42-32 early in the second half, 15th-seeded Georgia State (24-11) rallied to take a pair of onepoint leads, its last one coming on a driving bank shot from D’Marcus Simonds with 9:30 remaining.
Cincinnati (31-4) answered by reeling off 10 straight points as part of a 17-2 run.
“We just played Cincinnati basketball,” said Cumberland, who had his first career double-double. “We’re known for defense, and we just focused on our game plan.”
Nevada 87, Texas 83 — Caleb Martin scored 18 points and made two huge 3-pointers in overtime as the No. 7 Wolf Pack (28-7) rallied to beat the No. 10 Longhorns (1915) for their first NCAA tournament victory since 2007.
Nevada erased a 14-point, second-half deficit and tied it at 68 when Jordan Caroline hit one of two free throws with 3.8 seconds left in regulation. The Wolf Pack trailed by four early in an overtime period that featured 34 total points.
Xavier 102, Texas Southern 83 — J.P. Macura scored 18 of his careerhigh 29 points in the first half, and the top-seeded Musketeers (29-5) routed the No. 16 Tigers (16-20) in the West Region.
Trevon Bluiett added 26 points, and Kerem Kanter had 24 for the Big East’s regular season champs.
With celebrity fan Bill Murray watching, Macura helped Xavier respond when falling behind 20-13 within the first five minutes. Macura scored 15 points to key a 21-2 run that put the Musketeers ahead for good.