By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The word is out on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. In fact, it has been out for some time now.

UC coach Bob Huggins has tried his best to disguise it. He has tried to fix it. But in the end, the recipe is obvious.

To beat the offense-starved Bearcats, all opponents have to do is double-team Jason Maxiell on the low block, put a taller defender on Field Williams and limit Leonard Stokes' penetration.

The Saint Louis Billikens worked that formula to perfection Tuesday night before 12,232 fans at Shoemaker Center and walked off with a 58-55 victory over UC, their first win in Cincinnati since 1981-82 when Ed Badger was coaching the Bearcats and they were playing their games at Riverfront Coliseum.

"If Field Williams isn't hitting shots, they're a defensible team," said Saint Louis coach Brad Soderberg. "Stokes is obviously a quality scorer and Maxiell is dynamite on the low block, but it's not as difficult to defend two as it is to defend three. If Field Williams is off, it makes it a lot easier to defend them."

UC (14-8, 6-5 Conference USA) has lost five straight conference games and five of its last six overall. That hasn't happened before during the Huggins coaching era.

Despite a No. 22 Ratings Percentage Index ranking, the Bearcats might have put their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy, given the way they're stumbling.

"We're still in there," Huggins said, "but we've got to win some games."

Saint Louis (11-12, 5-7) has beaten UC and No. 3 Louisville within the past week.

The Bearcats played somewhat harder than they did at Charlotte, outrebounding the Billikens 40-32, but they still couldn't overcome their offensive shortcomings.

"We missed shots in the first half and we missed shots at the end of the game," Huggins said. "We did a better job of rebounding in the second half, but we dug ourselves too big of a hole."

UC shot 29 percent from the field (18-of-62). Williams finished with 11 points but made only 3-of-11 shots. His replacement, junior Tony Bobbitt, was 1-for-9, including a flurry of errant 3-pointers in the closing minutes as the Bearcats tried desperately to catch up after falling behind by 16 points early in the second half.

No UC players came to the interview room after the game. Bobbitt and Armein Kirkland, contacted outside the locker room, declined to comment.

The Bearcats used full-court pressure to hold the Billikens without a field goal for nine minutes. A pair of 3-pointers from Williams and Bobbitt got them within four with 2:02 to go.

They narrowed the lead to two on a Stokes basket with 10 seconds left. After Marque Perry made one of two free throws for Saint Louis, UC had one more chance to tie, but Stokes' 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

Stokes led UC with 18 points. Maxiell had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bearcats.

Trailing 31-18 at intermission, UC began the second half with a bit more spirit. The Bearcats took the floor clapping and exhorting each other. Having booed loudly as the first half ended, the crowd began to chant, "Let's go Bear-cats."

But shortly after the chant began, Saint Louis' Chris Sloan hit a 3-pointer to give the Billikens a 16-point lead.

Huggins did not make it out of the locker room in time for his postgame radio show. When he appeared in the media room about a half hour after the game, he wore the pain on his face as he faced reporters.

"I came back and coached because I knew they needed me," Huggins said. "I knew this was going to be a hard year. I've never been one to run away from things."

Bearcats recruit Whaley will play despite incident
Saint Louis finds confidence

Saint Louis	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Sloan	32	3	7	7	8	4	2	2	1	14
Brown	28	2	7	1	2	6	1	3	0	5
Fisher	36	0	3	0	0	3	5	2	1	0
Perry	38	7	16	4	8	6	0	3	3	20
Diener	30	2	3	0	0	1	1	4	1	6
Drejaj	16	0	2	2	2	4	0	1	1	2
Ohanon	3	1	2	3	5	1	0	1	1	5
Braun	12	2	4	2	2	3	0	3	0	6
Totals	200	17	44	19	27	32	9	20	10	58

Team rebounds: 4.

Cincinnati	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Stokes	37	7	15	4	7	6	2	3	3	18
Maxiell	34	4	14	4	5	10	1	2	4	12
Johnson	20	1	4	0	0	7	0	3	0	2
Williams	26	3	11	2	2	3	0	2	1	11
Barker	29	2	6	1	2	2	3	2	0	6
Land	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hollman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Lucas	12	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0
Hicks	16	0	1	3	4	6	0	3	0	3
Bobbitt	12	1	9	0	1	1	0	4	1	3
Flowers	0+	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kirkland	10	0	2	0	0	2	0	4	1	0
Totals	200	18	62	14	21	40	7	25	10	55

Team rebounds: 1.

Saint Louis	31	27	-58
Cincinnati	18	37	-55

3-point goals-Saint Louis 5-12 (Sloan 1-2, Fisher 0-2, Perry 2-5, Diener 2-3); Cincinnati 5-20 (Stokes 0-2, Williams 3-8, Barker 1-4, Hicks 0-1, Bobbitt 1-5). Technical fouls-Saint Louis (Team). Officials-Eades, Kitts, Sitton. Attendance-12,232.