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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HILO, Hawaii (AP) -- Kenyon Martin made sure top-ranked
Cincinnati passed its first real test of the season.
|  | | Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin, right, strips the ball away from Iowa State's Kantrall Horton.
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With their senior center falling a rebound and blocked shot short of a triple-double, the Bearcats beat Iowa State 75-60 Sunday night in the championship game of the Big Island Invitational and
avoided joining the long list of preseason Top Ten teams to lose
before December even starts.
Martin had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots to
lead Cincinnati (4-0), which won its first three games of the
season by an average of 28 points, but were only up five on the
Cyclones (3-2) with 1:59 to play.
"I played the way I wanted to play and the team played the way
it wanted to play," said Martin, the tournament MVP who had a
triple-double against DePaul as a sophomore. "I'll take 22, nine
and nine any day."
Iowa State's three-guard offense left it at a size disadvantage,
but with forward Marcus Fizer battling up front for 26 points, the
Cyclones trailed 65-60 on his drive with 1:59 left.
Those were Iowa State's final points of the game as Cincinnati
went 10-for-10 from the foul line the rest of the game.
"He does that all the time," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said
of Martin. "He only gets better and better and better. A year ago
he couldn't do what he does offensively but he was always that good
rebounding and guarding the ball."
Huggins was happy with his team's rebounding in the second half
and said the questions he had about the freshmen were answered with
the three games in three days.
"The freshmen were OK but they have to get a whole lot
better," Huggins said before turning the conversation back to
Martin. "There was never a question about No. 4."
The Bearcats opened the second half with an 8-2 run -- six of the
points came on offensive rebounds -- to take a 46-32 lead with 17:21
left.
Iowa State, even with Fizer out for four minutes after he picked
up his third personal foul, stayed within striking distance until
the final two minutes.
Steve Logan, who made six of the closing free throws and was
12-for-12 in the game, finished with 16 points and DerMarr Johnson
had 14 for the Bearcats.
"I want the ball in my hands at the end of the game just for
that reason," said Logan, who shot 95 percent from the foul line
as a high school senior and 78 percent as a freshman last season.
Jamaal Tinsley added 12 points for the Cyclones and Michael Nurse had 10.
Fizer finished 12-for-19 from the field and had four rebounds.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game and I thought they
were going to start Kenyon on me, but it was a wise decision by Coach
Huggins not to because he was such a defensive presence off the
ball," Fizer said. "They just did a great job."
"We knew what we had ahead of us and we just couldn't match
their physical presence and toughness," Iowa State coach Larry
Eustachy said. "That is the No. 1 team in the country when you
combine coaching, athleticism and talent."
With the score 9-9, Tinsley was pinched in a trap near midcourt
and as he struggled to turn and get rid of the ball there was
plenty of contact both ways but no call was made. Johnson stripped
the ball and went in for a dunk. Eustachy went ballistic in front
of his bench and was charged with a technical foul.
Logan made both free throws on the technical but Cincinnati came
up empty on the ensuing possession.
Both coaches kept working the officials hard and Huggins fell to
the floor in exasperation when Martin was charged with his second
foul on what appeared both live and on replays to be a clean block
of a shot down low by Fizer.
Fizer made one of two free throws and Cincinnati's Ryan Fletcher
hit a jumper with 3:45 left for a 34-24 lead, the biggest of the
opening 20 minutes that ended with the Bearcats up 38-30 and both
teams shooting 50 percent or better.
Martin said it may have been to Iowa State's disadvantage to
have come out as physically as it did.
"I think that takes away from what teams can do if they come out and try to be so physical with us," he said. "I think that's obvious and to our advantage."
Every member of the preseason Top Ten except Cincinnati, North Carolina and Arizona has already lost at least one game this season.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Iowa State Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
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