Satterfield

        MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Kenny Satterfield came out of the University of Cincinnati's huddle with 10.5 seconds left to play Thursday night, he turned to coach Bob Huggins and asked: What do you want me to do if nobody's open?

        “How about scoring for a change?” Huggins said.

        No problem, Coach.

        The sophomore guard hit a pull-up jumper from the right side with .9 seconds left to give the Bearcats a thrilling 66-65 victory over Memphis before 19,582 stunned fans at The Pyramid.

        “I wasn't hesitant about taking it, I just wanted to get his confidence,” Satterfield said. “If your coach tells you to take the shot and make it, that makes the shot a lot easier, because you know if you miss, he's behind you 100 percent.”

Immanuel McElroy shoots in traffic. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Satterfield said he was trying to go to his left to get the ball to teammate Steve Logan. But the defender kept playing Satterfield's left hand. Satterfield crossed over his dribble, went to his right and elevated.

        “It felt good,” he said. “All my shots usually feel good, but sometimes they don't go in. You remember all the other situations you've been in like that and missing those shots. It's about time one went down; that's what you're saying in your head.

        “If I had to make that shot tonight or early in the season, I'd rather make it right now so we're back in the hunt for the championship.”

        He had come up short in five previous attempts to win a game in the final seconds. Xavier. Toledo. Marquette. Saint Louis. Wake Forest (in regulation). He had refused to talk to the media since Jan.24.

        “Satt was due,”Huggins said.

        “How much guts and heart did he show to take that shot tonight and make it?” Logan said. “He's got total confidence in himself. Personally, I feel good for him. The last week and a half he's been working on his shot, staying late. He deserved to hit that shot.”

        After two timeouts, Shamel Jones tried to inbound a long pass for Memphis, but the ball went out of bounds. It went to the Bearcats under their basket.

        Jones fouled Donald Little before the ball could be inbounded. Little shot a one-and-one free throw, missed it, and the game was over.

        Satterfield, who finished with 11 points, also hit a deep 3-pointer that put UC ahead 64-63 with 33.7 seconds remaining.

        UC (17-7) improves to 7-4 in Conference USA, tied with Marquette for first place in the American Division, one game ahead of Charlotte. The Bearcats play host to Marquette at 9 p.m. Sunday. Cincinnati also is just one game behind overall leader Memphis.

        “It's for us to take,” Logan said.

        The Tigers (14-10) drop to 8-3 in the league and lead the National Division by just one game over second-place South Florida.

        UC has won three straight games and five of its last six.

        The game was not just a matchup between two of the higher-profile coaches in the conference (Huggins and John Calipari) but also between two top candidates for the league's player of the year honor (Logan and Memphis forward Kelly Wise, both juniors). Neither disappointed.

        Logan scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and led UC in scoring for the 10th consecutive game. He also became the 39th Bearcat to score 1,000 points for his career; he has 1,008.

        “That's my job, to make shots, to come out and be a competitor,” he said. “I was ready to go. All big games I'm ready to go.”

        Wise had 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

        Logan scored 15 of UC's first 17 points in the second half. The game was tied six times in the final 15 1/2 minutes. UC finally had to look elsewhere for points.

        Little, who also finished with 11 points, made three straight baskets, including a short left-handed hook that put UC ahead 61-59 with 3:11 left — its first lead of the second half.

        “We haven't won a game when Lo was the only one who scored,” Huggins said.

        It was back and forth the rest of the way. Jones hit a leaning jumper with 15.4 seconds remaining to put Memphis up 65-64. That set the stage for Satterfield.

        “I've been in many of these throughout my coaching career, and what usually happens is, whoever has the ball last wins the game, and they had it last,” Calipari said.

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CINCINNATI (66)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Davis           25   0-6   0-0   2-4  1  3    0
Mcelroy         34   3-5   1-4   2-5  2  2    7
Grove           25   3-3   0-0   4-5  1  3    6
Satterfield     34  4-11   2-2   1-3  5  2   11
Logan           37  9-18   6-6   0-0  2  3   27
Jones            6   1-3   0-0   0-1  0  0    2
Stokes          15   0-3   0-0   2-4  1  0    0
Crawford         5   1-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    2
Little          19   5-6   1-5   2-5  0  3   11
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 26-56 10-17 13-27 12 16   66
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.464, FT-.588. 3-Point Goals:
4-10, .400 (Satterfield 1-2, Logan 3-6, Jones
0-1, Stokes 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked
shots: 3 (Davis 2, Little). Turnovers: 12
(Satterfield 4, Davis 3, Grove 2, Jones, Little,
Logan). Steals: 3 (Satterfield 2, Logan).


MEMPHIS (65)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Forman          31   3-7   2-2   1-3  0  1    8
Wise            39  8-19   0-3  8-14  5  1   16
Diarra           8   2-2   0-0   0-2  0  2    4
Mcfadgon        23   2-4   1-1   1-2  1  3    6
Chatman         36   2-8   0-0   1-2  5  1    4
Trask            4   1-2   0-0   0-0  0  0    3
E Barron        10   1-4   0-0   0-0  0  5    2
Moody           26   2-8   0-0   2-6  2  1    5
Jones           23  6-10   5-6  5-10  3  4   17
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 27-64  8-12 18-39 16 18   65
_______________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.422, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
3-12, .250 (Forman 0-1, Mcfadgon 1-2, Chatman
0-4, Trask 1-2, Moody 1-3). Team rebounds: 2.
Blocked shots: 6 (Wise 4, Moody 2). Turnovers: 14
(Wise 4, Chatman 3, Diarra 2, E Barron 2, Jones
2, Mcfadgon). Steals: 6 (Chatman 2, Diarra,
Forman, Mcfadgon, Moody).
__________________________________
Cincinnati         32   34  -   66
Memphis            37   28  -   65
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None.  A: 19,582. Officials: Jim
Burr, Ted Hillary, John Clougherty.

---

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