Jan. 12, 2008

Box Score

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Rashad Bishop's 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play -- the freshman forward's only basket of the game -- rallied Cincinnati to a 69-66 victory Saturday over No. 19 Villanova, which couldn't hold a lead in the final minute.

Scottie Reynolds scored a season-high 32 points for Villanova (11-3, 1-2 Big East), but had a shot blocked with 27 seconds left and the Wildcats up by one. Bishop, who was 0-for-3 at that point, then sank one from the right wing.

When Villanova's Corey Fisher missed the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds left, Cincinnati (8-8, 3-1) got the rebound and the breakthrough win. The Bearcats have already surpassed their conference win total from last season, when they went 2-14.

Reynolds missed a 3-point attempt in traffic at the buzzer.

Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati with 25 points. John Williamson had his second double-double of the season, getting 13 points and 11 rebounds. He also made one of his two free throws with 5 seconds left for the final margin.

It was the second loss in three games for Villanova, which got outrebounded 38-28.

Reynolds, a point guard who was the Big East's rookie of the year last season, was Villanova's offense at the outset. He scored the Wildcats' first 12 points off a series of spin moves and drives to the basket.

Vaughn did his best to keep up, scoring 13 in a back-and-forth first half that featured five lead changes and neither team ahead by more than six. The Bearcats kept it close by dominating the boards -- Williamson had 10 rebounds in the first half alone, when Villanova failed to get even one offensive rebound.

The Bearcats have turned into a solid rebounding team lately. They held Syracuse without a rebound for an 8-minute span during Cincinnati's 74-66 win Wednesday night.

Reynolds and Vaughn kept up their game of "top this" at the start of the second half. Vaughn's fastbreak layup put Cincinnati up 41-40, its first lead in 11 minutes.

That was the first of seven lead changes in the half. Cincinnati pulled ahead 55-50 -- its biggest lead since the opening minutes -- when Vaughn stripped Fisher and drove for a layup with 7:41 left.

Reynolds responded with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in a 7-0 run that set up the frantic finish.

Cincinnati's take-it-up-strong approach paid off in free throws. The Bearcats went 17-of-30 from the line, while Villanova was 8-of-15.