Bearcats drop Shockers for AAC crown
WICHITA, Kan. — Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin took a moment late in Sunday’s game and was enjoying the atmosphere of his team’s hard-fought regularseason finale.
“I’m busy coaching, but I will admit it,” Cronin said, “during that last under-four (minute) timeout, I stopped and looked around and thought, ‘This is a great game.”’
And it ended with No. 10 Cincinnati outlasting No. 11 Wichita State 62-61 on Sunday to win the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference.
Jacob Evans scored 19 points to lead Cincinnati (27-4, 16-2). Jarron Cumberland and Kyle Washington each scored 11 points for the Bearcats, and Gary Clark added 10.
Clark scored Cincinnati’s final four points, a layup with four minutes remaining and two free throws with 3:27 to play, giving Cincinnati a 62-58 lead.
The Bearcats did not score again, but held on in a slugfest that featured only two baskets in the final five minutes.
“I will tell you, honestly, when both teams were playing so hard for so long, it becomes a game of attrition,” Cronin said.
“And sometimes, that takes away your ability to make shots. You’re just battling so hard.”
Landry Shamet and Shaquille Morris each scored 16 points for Wichita State (24-6, 14-4). The Shockers needed a victory to share the conference title and would have earned the top seed in the AAC tournament after having defeated Cincinnati earlier this season.
“It felt like a game that should have been played at a neutral court late in March,” Shamet said. “It was a hell of a fight.”
Cincinnati had a 16-1 run in the first half to take a 27-16 lead, but Wichita State closed within 37-36 by halftime. The game was tight throughout the second half, and the Shockers had three shots in the final 15 seconds.
Clark blocked a shot by a driving Shamet, giving Wichita State the ball out of bounds under its own basket with 9 seconds remaining. The Shockers got the ball to shooting guard Conner Frankamp, who was guarded by Cincinnati center Nysier Brooks, the mismatch they anticipated.
Frankamp’s jumper missed long, and Darral Willis’ put-back hit the back of the backboard as time expired.
“I thought Conner’s shot was going in; it looked good,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “I would do the same thing again.”
Women
Katie Lou Samuelson scored 21 points to lead the Huskies (30-0) to a rout of the Green Wave (14-17) in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament in Uncasville, Connecticut. Kalani Brown scored 28 points and the Bears (30-1) rolled past the Horned Frogs (19-12) in a Big 12 semifinal in Oklahoma City. Baylor will face Texas in Monday’s final.
Asia Durr scored 17 points and Sam Fuehring converted a key three-point play in the final minute, helping the Cardinals (32-2) beat the Fighting Irish (29-3) in Greensboro, North Carolina, for their first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. Jessica Shepard had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame.
Jatarie White scored 11 points to help the Longhorns (26-5) beat the Mountaineers (21-11) in a Big 12 semifinal in Oklahoma City.
A’ja Wilson helped the Gamecocks (26-6) become the first Southeastern Conference women’s program to win four consecutive tournament titles, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak at 32 with an upset of the Bulldogs (32-1) in Nashville, Tennessee. Wilson finished with 16 points and eight rebounds to lead South Carolina to its fourth straight SEC Tournament title.
Hunter calls it quits at Western Carolina
Western Carolina men’s coach Larry Hunter said he is stepping down, one day after the Catamounts lost in the Southern Conference tournament to finish 13-19. Hunter, 68, has 702 career victories, including 397 at the Division I level with 12 seasons at Ohio and 13 at Western Carolina. He also was the head coach at Division III Wittenberg from 1976 to ’89. His only NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I head coach came in 1994 with the Bobcats and future NBA player Gary Trent. Ohio lost 84-72 to Indiana, coached by Bob Knight.