“The problem with those 23 offensive rebounds is that we only scored 15 second-chance points,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “You’ve got to convert. You’re not going to beat Pitt if you don’t convert. You’ve got to put the ball in the basket and we didn’t do it.”
UC shot only 33.3 percent from the field, went 14 of 23 from the free throw line and missed at least five layups in the first half alone, including one at the start of the game by Dion Dixon, who was shut out for the second time in the last four games.
The Bearcats also hurt their cause by turning the ball over 16 times.
“I think in the first half we were trying too much to get buckets too quick,” said forward Rashad Bishop, “so we were taking bad shots and turning the ball over. That’s what really started their run.”
The Bearcats trailed by 17 at halftime after shooting 30 percent in the first half.
Pitt led, 15-6, when UC rallied to get within three on a Larry Davis basket. A Davis 3-pointer kept the Bearcats close at 24-19 with 6:29 left in the half, but Pitt closed the half by outscoring UC, 16-4.
After building a 46-23 lead on a Gibbs 3-pointer early in the second half, Pitt went five and a half minutes without scoring, allowing UC to trim the deficit to 16, but the Panthers pulled away again.
The Bearcats made a late run to get within eight points with 39.5 seconds remaining to make the final score more respectable.
“I was really proud of the guys in the second half,” Cronin said. “We became a much better team. We learned a lot about ourselves and our character the way we cut the lead to eight. That doesn’t happen to them in their own gym.”
Asked if he thought the Bearcats would have had a better chance to win with Gates on the floor, Cronin said, “Absolutely not. Not one little bit. I really believe that it did not have any effect on the outcome of the game.”
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110205/SPT0101/302050029/1064/Panthers-put-away-Bearcats
