Xavier survives 76-66 battle with Cincinnati

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI — Derrick Brown had 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out on a technical Saturday, and No. 10 Xavier remained unbeaten with the roughest one of them all, a 76-66 victory over Cincinnati that featured six technical fouls.

Whistle by whistle, it fit the crosstown rivalry’s lore.

Xavier (9-0) extended the second-best start in its history by maintaining its edge in the edge-of-an-elbow series. The Musketeers have won nine of their last 13 against Cincinnati (6-2), which never led after the opening 2 minutes.

Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati’s comeback from a 17-point deficit in the second half, scoring 19 of his 27 points after the intermission.

C.J. Anderson added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Xavier, which is one victory shy of tying the school mark for best start set by the 1996-97 squad.

The team with more to lose usually has the tougher time in the annual grudge match between schools separated by only 3 1/2 miles. The series is flush with upsets, none bigger than when Xavier visited Cincinnati in 1996 and beat the then-No. 1 Bearcats 71-69 on Lenny Brown’s last-second jumper.

In this one, the Bearcats had the most to gain. They’ve shown improvement in their fourth season since Bob Huggins’ ouster as coach, but haven’t been able to draw a crowd — their 13,000-seat arena was less than half full for each game before Saturday — or get much national attention.

They also had the advantage of a full week to prepare for the game — Xavier had only two days — and broke out their special red uniforms for the occasion.

Xavier opened with a 14-2 run that set the tone. The Musketeers’ tight man-to-man defense, their staple during the unbeaten streak, clamped down on Vaughn and the Bearcats’ front line, holding Cincinnati to 3-for-13 shooting with 10 turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

The Musketeers took control with an 18-4 run that featured Dante Jackson, who was forced to move back to point guard after freshman Terrell Holloway picked up three quick fouls. Jackson hit back-to-back 3s, and had a pull-up jumper and a steal in the run, which pushed the score to 39-22.

Jackson had 13 of his career-high 15 points in the opening half. He also had a pair of steals as Xavier forced 14 turnovers before the break.

Vaughn took over the Bearcats’ offense at the start of the second half, scoring 17 points in the first 9 minutes. His third 3-pointer in the surge cut it to 55-49 and brought the Bearcats’ first capacity crowd to its feet.

Game on.

Xavier finished it off with defense. Brown had steals on back-to-back Cincinnati possessions and was fouled both times. He made all four free throws, building the lead to 68-59 with 2:30 left. Anderson’s basket then pushed the lead to 12.

Game over.

Akron 78, N. Carolina A&T 61

AKRON — Anthony Hitchens scored 23 points and led Akron’s second-half surge as the Zips pulled away to beat North Carolina A&T.

Brett McKnight had 13 points and Nate Linhart had 11 for Akron (6-3).

Ed Jones had 23, and Tavarus Alston had 15 for the Aggies (5-4).

Akron trailed most of the first half, which ended in a tie at 35. But a 7-0 run at the beginning of the second half that included a 3-pointer by Hitchens put the Zips ahead for good. Another 3-pointer by Hitchens gave Akron its biggest lead at 78-59 with 3:56 to play.

Hitchens was 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc as Akron repeatedly fired from long range but hit just 13 of 36.

Delaware 75, Ohio 66

NEWARK, Del. — Jawan Carter scored 23 points and Delaware defeated Ohio University.

Delaware (4-6), which led 36-34 at halftime, started the second half with a 9-2 run. The Blue Hens then led 65-47 with 8:37 remaining as they scored 18 points during a five minute stretch.

It was the Blue Hens first home win in four tries this season, as the victory avenged their 19-point loss to the Bobcats (4-5) last year.

Marc Egerson added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Hens as Alphonso Dawson scored 15.

DeVaughan Washington and Justin Orr scored 15 points each for the Bobcats. Ohio’s Jerome Tillman, the Mid-American Conference’s leading scorer (20.1 points per game), was limited to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Delaware held the Bobcats to 37.1 (13 of 35) percent shooting in the second half and only 4 of 16 from 3-point range for the game.