University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Cincinnati
Men's Basketball Falls To No. 25 Cincinnati, 77-46
12/17/2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec 17, 2001
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI - Steve Logan scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half Monday night as No. 25 Cincinnati beat Richmond 77-46 in the first round of the Las Vegas Classic.
The eight-team tournament opens on campus sites, then switches to Las Vegas later this week for more round-robin games.
The Bearcats (8-1) took the court with their first national ranking of the season and a new home uniform - bright red. They had worn white home uniforms for the last 10 years.
Playing their first game since a 20-point win over crosstown rival Xavier on Friday night, the Bearcats were sluggish and sloppy as they inched ahead of poor-shooting Richmond (3-4) in the first half.
Logan put the game away by hitting six of seven shots in the second half and leading a decisive 11-2 run. Mike Skrocki led Richmond with 14 points.
The biggest cheer went to former Bearcats center Kenyon Martin, who got a standing ovation when he walked into the Shoemaker Center with 7:46 to play in the first half. Martin sat behind the Cincinnati bench and watched a familiar sight - coach Bob Huggins berating the officials and his players.
Martin, now with the New Jersey Nets, carried the Olympic flame to Paul Brown Stadium earlier Monday evening as the last leg of the torch relay through town.
Martin stretched in his folding chair and watched Logan steady the Bearcats through an uninspired game against a team that doesn't shoot well. The Spiders are averaging only 54.7 points - among the lowest in Division I - and came into the game shooting 34.6 percent from the field. They shot 36.6 percent for the game.
Richmond missed its first five shots and had three turnovers as Cincinnati opened with a 7-0 spurt. The Spiders missed nine of their first 10 shots overall, helping the Bearcats pull ahead by double digits.
Richmond kept the deficit around 10 points by using an assortment of zone defenses against the bigger Bearcats. Logan hit a 3-pointer and a fade-away jumper and had two assists in the final 4 minutes as Cincinnati took a 36-20 halftime lead.
Tony Dobbins' two free throws cut it to 49-37 midway through the second half, but Logan had two free throws and another fade-away during an 11-2 run that clinched it.
