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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- For the first time this season, Cincinnati
built a big lead and didn't put its game on cruise control.
|  | | Justin Love of St. Louis tries to score in front of Pete Mickeal's defense. |
Kenyon Martin had 19 points and 17 rebounds and the top-ranked
Bearcats put away Saint Louis with a 19-4 run that started near the
end of the first half in a 79-64 victory Thursday night.
"They felt the effects of the Bearcats," said Pete Mickeal,
who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman DerMarr Johnson added 23 points for Cincinnati (8-0),
which had a 38-21 advantage on the boards in the Conference USA
opener for both schools.
Mickeal liked his stat line, but he liked Martin's a lot better.
Martin also had four assists and only one turnover.
"That's crazy," Mickeal said.
"It seemed like the ball was just coming to me," Martin said.
"I'll take 19 and 17 every day."
Cincinnati has won 11 of the last 12 against Saint Louis (5-3)
and the Bearcats are 50-11 in the four-plus seasons of the
conference.
Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins has been unhappy with his team's
play in the second half, with the Bearcats averaging a 20-point
lead in the first half but teams playing them even thereafter. That
didn't happen this time as Huggins extended his record against
Saint Louis to 18-3.
"I think the encouraging thing is we can get so much better,"
Huggins said. "I just don't think we're near as good defensively
as we're eventually going to be."
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 guard, scored 15 points in the first half on
6-for-6 shooting and had two 3-pointers in an 11-2 run to close the
first half as Cincinnati took a 37-26 lead. Cincinnati shot 53.6
percent and held Saint Louis to 34.6 percent.
The Billikens blew two dunks and two layups in the half.
"Before the run, we missed some shots at point-blank range,"
Saint Louis coach Lorenzo Romar said. "At that point we kind of
put our heads down. You can smell blood."
Cincinnati scored eight of the first 10 points after halftime,
including two more baskets by Johnson, and Mickeal's dunk made it
45-28 with 16:06 to go. The lead grew to as many as 22 points.
Johnson's previous career high was 18 in the season opener
against Youngstown State. He finished 8-for-12 and added two
steals.
"We forget sometimes he's still a freshman and still
learning," Mickeal said.
Justin Love, Saint Louis' leading scorer with a 20-point
average, had only nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. Love spent most
of the second half on the bench.
"He basically just faded away," said Mickeal, who guarded
Love. "He just calmed down. Most of it was on him."
Love said he deserved to sit.
"I like to be out there on the court, but if Coach wants to sit
me down, I deserve it," he said. "I didn't come ready to play."
Justin Tatum had 18 points, Maurice Jeffers 12 and Troy
Robertson 10 for Saint Louis, which did accomplish one objective:
reducing turnovers. After committing 25 in a victory over Missouri
on Sunday, the Billikens had 16.
At halftime, Saint Louis retired the No. 34 jersey of Anthony
Bonner, the team's career leader in scoring (1,972 points),
rebounding (1,424) and steals (192). It's the fourth jersey to be
retired and the first in more than a quarter-century, joining Ed
Macauley, Dick Boushka and Bob Ferry.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
St Louis Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kenyon Martin drives through the lane and lays it off the glass.
avi: 368 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Justin Tatum posts up his defender and scores.
avi: 713 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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