CINCINNATI Ice-cold Bearcats survive for close win

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jason Maxiell scored 18 points and Teron Barker added 17 Saturday night as poor-shooting Cincinnati briefly found its mark, then held on for a 65-62 victory over La Salle.
Cincinnati (4-2) came out in its special-occasion red uniforms for the first time this season, hoping for a fresh start.
The Bearcats have been in a season-long shooting slump, culminating in a 50-44 loss to Xavier a week ago.
With the exception of a stretch early in the second half, the Bearcats weren't much better in red than they've been in black and white.
They shot 39 percent from the field -- roughly their season average -- as La Salle (3-3) went with a zone defense.
Their best stretch came during a 10-point run early in the second half, which pushed the lead to 17. Barker made a jumper and a 3-pointer, then drove the baseline and passed to Maxiell for a dunk that made it 43-26.
The Explorers slowly chipped away, and gave Cincinnati a scare with a late 9-1 spurt. Gary Neal made a 3-pointer to start the run, and Jermaine Thomas' bank shot cut it to 63-60 with 47 seconds left.
Barker missed a shot, LaSalle rebounded and Thomas made an uncontested driving layup with 2.4 seconds left. After a timeout, Cincinnati's Armein Kirkland made a dunk off a full-court pass against the press, clinching it.
Thomas led La Salle with 25 points. La Salle sophomore guard Mike Cleaves hurt his left knee when he landed awkwardly after taking a shot in a crowd of defenders midway through the first half.
Cleaves, who was on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team last season, rolled on the court in pain and didn't put any weight on the leg as he was helped to the bench.