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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BAYAMON, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Cincinnati finally left Alabama
behind for good in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic title game.
The Bearcats (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP)
scored the first eight points of
overtime en route to a 77-74 victory over the Crimson Tide (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP)
on Friday night.
|  | | Cincinnati players celebrate their 77-74 overtime win over Alabama on Friday. |
The great start to the extra five minutes was even more
impressive because Cincinnati had seemed to have the game locked
up, leading by 13 points with four minutes to play.
"I thought our defensive effort in the overtime was
outstanding," Bearcats coach Bob Huggins said. "We were tired.
That's five games in eight days. That's a lot of games."
The last four were wins and the last of those came behind the 23
points of Kenny Satterfield, the tournament MVP who had six points
in the overtime, including the middle four of the run to open it.
"We just continued to play hard even after we lost that lead
because we really believe that as long as we continue to play hard
good things will happen," Satterfield said.
The Bearcats (8-2) led by 14 points at halftime and also saw
that lead disappear as the Crimson Tide (9-1) got within 51-48 with
8:26 to play.
Steve Logan scored nine of his 13 points in an 11-1 run that
gave the Bearcats a 62-49 lead with 3:59 to play in regulation. The
junior guard who wasn't expected to play again in the tournament
after spraining his left ankle early in the second half of the
opener, came up big for the second straight game.
"It started coming to me and when I get an open look I'm going
to knock it in," Logan said. "You can't let a run like that
happen. I just took what they gave me."
But it did happen again.
Alabama sophomore guard Rod Grizzard, who had 23 points against
Cincinnati and 78 in the three games, had half the points in the
Crimson Tide's 18-7 run to close regulation. All his points in that
run came on 3-pointers, but the ones that forced overtime came on
two free throws by Antoine Pettway with four seconds left.
Pettway, whose only other points until then were a 3 with 1:05
left that made it 64-62, made the first free throw after being
fouled by Logan on a drive to the basket.
He missed the second, but Cincinnati's Donald Little was called
for a lane violation and Pettway made the next one to make it
67-67.
Huggins felt a double violation should have been called and that
would have given the ball to the Bearcats because of the possession
arrow.
Logan missed a long 3 at the regulation buzzer.
"I guess they felt Donald stepped in first," Huggins said.
Alabama missed its first five shots in the overtime as
Cincinnati opened with the 8-0 run. Satterfield made one free throw
with 17 seconds left to make it 77-72 and Pettway scored on a layup
at the final buzzer for the final margin.
"We rushed a lot," Grizzard said in explaining the start to
the overtime. "The things we were supposed to do we didn't
capitalize on and we were running around like chickens with our
heads cut off for a while. It was only three minutes but it killed
us."
Alabama coach Mark Gottfried agreed that his team was playing at
the wrong speed.
"We just rushed," he said. "We finished regulation with a
flow but we played the overtime at the same speed when we needed to
slow it down and execute together."
Leonard Stokes had 14 points for Cincinnati and was the man
assigned to cover Grizzard.
"Leonard played great defense on him," Satterfield said, "but
he just jumped up in the air and shot right over him with a hand in
his face. You can't ask for better defense."
Terence Meade had 15 points for Alabama, while Erwin Dudley had
13 points and 11 rebounds.
Logan had 18 points in the semifinals, including a huge
3-pointer with four minutes left after Clemson had cut a 15-point
deficit to two.
"It's a little sore and rough right now," Logan said of his
ankle. "But I'll take care of it with a couple days off and I'll
soak it and massage it."
The title game was the third on the final day of the tournament
to go overtime.
Washington beat Clemson 77-76 in overtime in the third-place
game, while Youngstown State beat Northern Iowa 79-76 in double
overtime in the fifth-place game.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Alabama Clubhouse
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