College
Vaughn, Bearcats can't finish
By Paul Dehner Jr., CNATI.com Posted February 7, 2010 5:55 PM ET
For 28 minutes a collection of promising young players pooled their contributions to put the University of Cincinnati in perfect position to shock a team coach Mick Cronin repeatedly referred to as "the best team in the country."
For the final 12 minutes, though, as the No. 3 Syracuse Orange defense extended its exhaustive zone as deep into the Bearcats' backcourt as it did into its mind, Cincinnati needed more.
It needed a star. It needed a veteran whose hit big shots and been through the big games. It needed a special player to be special.
It needed Deonta Vaughn.
It got nothing.
Sorry, check that. It got one field goal in the final 12:26. It got zero points in the last six minutes. It got a 28-5 Syracuse run to close a 71-54 Orange victory.
It got Vaughn, the clear senior leader, the clear voice of calm among an inexperienced collection of 19- and 20-year-olds, the clear best long-range shooter on the team, bricking all six 3-pointers, half of which clanged in the final 12 minutes of offensive possessions.
The Bearcats' best 3-point shooter joined his team in going 5 of 19 from deep in a game where UC couldn't afford to be off target.
"At some points we have to make shots and loosen that zone up," Cronin said.
The Bearcats didn't. It made all the difference.
In a moment where Syracuse bounced back onto the ropes, the Orange never wavered.
"Nothing seems to bother these guys," Jim Boeheim said. "They make a couple stops, make a couple plays and all of a sudden we are back in the game."
"There's a reason they are 23-1," Cronin said.
And a reason UC is 14-9, 5-6 and losers of three of four games. Because whether it be Vaughn, Yancy Gates or Lance Stephenson, the entire package can never stay together for 40 minutes to provide a breakthrough win.
Certainly, little resistance could come against the argument Syracuse did what Syracuse does. It wore down Cincinnati with a matchup zone that would test the patience of the most disciplined of teams. Andy Rautins pulled up to knock down tough shots on his way to a game-high 20 points. Kris Joseph drained two triples to sap the life out of the Bearcats. Scoop Jardine sliced through the lane in the absence of a hampered Wesley Johnson. One of the most experienced teams in the Big East played like it.
In fact, Cronin said after the game he was, "encouraged."
"I was not encouraged by the last six minutes," he said. "We don't have to play Syracuse every game. If we keep playing the way we played today we will be fine."
Ibrahima Thomas used touch in the paint to lead UC with 13 points. Stephenson threw his hands to the air, screamed and showed off the kind of emotion absent from his face for weeks in gathering 10 points and eight rebounds. And, yes, for 28 minutes against one of the premier teams in the country, UC held a six-point lead.
Encouraging. But in February in the middle of Big East play encouraging only goes so far.
They are now battling from a tie for ninth place in the conference with three games remaining against the top seven teams in the country. Four of those will come on the road, where UC has only one win this year and not been closer than eight points in either of the last two.
"We not too much worried about that right now," said Vaughn, who has struggled mightily through the last three games. He is now 5 of his last 22 from behind the arc after equaling his season low of four points. "We got some winnable games still ahead of us and Big East tournament coming up."
When they arrive at Madison Square Garden, this team will need a superstar to lead it back. It will need somebody to take the reins of a young team.
It will need Deonta Vaughn.
"This let's us know where we stand," Vaughn said. "This lets us know who we can play with. We can play with Syracuse, if we can we can play them tomorrow and hopefully it will turn out better than it did tonight."
At least, when they play Connecticut, Vaughn needs it to turn out better for both himself and his team. The Bearcats postseason hopes depend on it.
"Understand in situation we're in because we gave three games away," Cronin said. "Talk about that stuff, but it still doesn't matter. In February still have to play and have to worry about basketball. We have to worry about things that make you a good team and make you a good player."
Categories: College, Featured Stories, Men's Basketball, News, University of Cincinnati Bearcats
Tags: Bearcats, Deonta Vaughn, Mick Cronin
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