It may have been the electric Fifth Third Arena crowd, or the senior day atmosphere, or the must-win nature of the game, or the Lance Stephenson cardboard bighead blowing in the Mustang players’ ears. I’d like to think it was a culmination of all of this and more, which resulted in a Bearcats win over SMU 61-54 in the season finale.
UC shot just 29.5% from the field, including an abysmal 1 of 19 from 3. However, the Cats secured the game at the free throw line, going 24 of 30. (I never thought I would say that!) It wasn’t pretty, but it was a huge win over #24 SMU, which should have secured a lot for the Bearcats in the NCAA Tournament (fingers crossed).
A huge thanks to all of the seniors (Ellis, Thomas, DeBerry, and Cobb) that have contributed much to the program:
A few thoughts lingering from this game: (1) how good would Cory DeBerry have been if he had another year in Clifton? (2) would the season have been any different if Jacob Evans was a starter from day 1?
Next up – UC faces a pesky UConn team, also on the March Madness bubble, on Friday in the AAC Conference Tournament. The Bearcats swept the Huskies during the regular season, but this should be another very close game, with both teams looking to lock-in a slot in the dance.
By Andy Smith