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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Even without All-American Kenyon Martin,
Cincinnati had far too much firepower for overmatched North
Carolina-Wilmington in the NCAA tournament.
The Bearcats, with the injured Martin sitting at the end of the bench, routed the Seahawks 64-47 on Friday in the first round of the South Regional.
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Cincinnati proved that it can still compete for a deep NCAA
Tournament run with a convincing win over UNC Wilmington.
The Bearcats were never afforded a honeymoon period to adjust to
life without Kenyon Martin, the way Auburn had time to play without Chris
Porter. The Bearcats needed a dominating performance against one of the
weaker lower seeds in the bracket.
DerMarr Johnson, Kenny Satterfield and Pete Mickeal were assertive
without Martin.
The national media has ignored Cincinnati in Nashville, jumping off
the Bearcats as if they had the plague. That suits Cincinnati fine as it
tries to quietly mount a seemingly improbable run to the Final Four.
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Martin, on crutches because of a broken right leg, became emotional as the game began. He used a towel to wipe away tears as the teams lined up for the opening tap.
"It didn't hit me until they called the starting lineup and I wasn't part of it and I knew I wasn't going to play," he said. "Right before the game, it was hard. I got over it and I started cheering my team on."
Faced with replacing Martin's nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as well as his defensive presence under the basket, coach Bob Huggins warned sympathizers that Cincinnati had other weapons. He went to them against the Seahawks.
Four Bearcats scored in double figures led by Pete Mickeal's 15 points. DerMarr Johnson had 13, Kenny Satterfield 12, and Ryan Fletcher, who replaced Martin in the starting lineup, scored 10.
"We've got to get those points and rebounds we're missing by committee," he said. "I think we got a little too perimeter-oriented, but we did what we wanted to do. We had four guys in double figures and Steve (Logan) close with eight."
Cincinnati also had nine blocked shots.
"Their ability to block shots changed the game," said Ramond Perine of UNCW. "When we couldn't hit from outside we had to take it inside and they made it hard for us to score."
Johnson and Jermaine Tate had four blocks each for the Bearcats.
"For 32 minutes, we played pretty well defensively," Huggins said. "Then we let up some but our defense was the key."
Fletcher ended the first half with a resounding dunk that sent Cincinnati into the locker room with a 26-14 lead. It could have been more.
North Carolina Wilmington made just six of 28 shots in the first 20 minutes and did not get to the foul line until the final half-minute.
The Bearcats built their lead by scoring baskets in bunches. There were runs of 11-2 and then 10-2 in the first half and Cincinnati scored eight of the first 10 points in the second half.
|  | | Cincy's Donald Little goes up to block a shot Friday. |
By then, Martin was leading cheers and advising teammates as they came to the bench during timeouts.
"I was telling guys what I thought they needed to do," he said. "Coach said I wasn't much help. I was telling them what to do and they weren't listening.
"This was the first game without me. They're got to work it out."
Against UNCW, that wasn't much of a problem. The Seahawks (18-13) struggled with their shooting all game long and their early four-point lead at 7-3 hardly disturbed Cincinnati. Victor Ebong led the losers with 15 points.
"One of the things you have to do when there's a physical difference is shoot the ball at a high level," UNCW coach Jerry Wainwright said. "You just need a great shooting night and that's sometimes hard in these big arenas where kids get 20 minutes to practice."
Now comes the hard part for the Bearcats (29-3). They've been eliminated in the second round of the last three NCAA tournaments and try to end that jinx Sunday.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Wilmington NCAA Team Report
Cincinnati NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Coach Huggins talks about compensating for the loss of Kenyon Martin.
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