CINCINNATI SPORTS LAST WEEK

On Wednesday night we had the Crosstown Shootout at Xavier's Cintas Center. The betting line had the top 25 ranked Muskies as 19 point favorites over Cincinnati. As usual, this game was not your usual game.


UC switched back and forth from zone to man-to-man defenses and kept Xavier off balance. Neither team shot the ball very well. The Bearcats led much of the early going but never by more than two or three points. Xavier had its first lead late in the first half and Josh Duncan hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 4 point lead. UC outrebounded Xavier by 10 in the half.

Early in the second half, Cincinnati lost starting swing man Marvin Gentry for the night. He ran into his own player going for a loose ball. Not long after that, Josh Duncan was sent to the locker room for the night with a twisted knee.


The Musketeers extended their lead early in the second half but the Bearcats stormed back to take a 48-43 lead with about 6 minutes left in the game. Cincy still led 53-51 with 2 minutes to go when Xavier went on a run that sealed the deal. It ended 64-59 in favor of the home team. Derrick Brown led XU in scoring with 17. He had the critical free throws down the stretch.

On Saturday afternoon, Xavier was in Tempe to play the Arizona State Sun Devils. As happens so often right after The Shootout, the locals were sleep walking and lost big time, 77-55. Duncan started but soon figured out that he was not ready and didn't play the rest of the way. B.J. Raymond had 12 points to lead the Musketeers in scoring.


On Saturday night before a national audience, the Cincinnati Bengals again failed to perform. They were playing the lowly 49ers in beautiful conditions in San Francisco and they were facing a third string quarterback making his first NFL start. No matter, they were uninspired, uncoordinated, and unmistakably unprepared to compete. They lost the game 20-13 and moved into contention for a very high draft choice next spring. They are Not Fun to Like.


Fenwick H.S. is 1-5 so far on the season, Hamilton H.S. is 2-5 and Wilmington H.S. is 4-3.