Conference USA Semifinals Recap | |||
Recap by Zach Van Hart No. 1 DePaul 75, No. 4 UAB 74 When UAB’s Carldell Johnson made a steal and took it the length of the court, the Blazers took their largest lead of the game, 49-33. It was DePaul’s eighteen turnover of the game. But the Demons soon cleaned up its act and by no coincidence, starting roaring back. They would only turn the ball over two more times during the final 21 minutes and responded with a 25-6 run, taking a 58-55 lead. While everyone contributed in the run, including two three-pointers from reserve guard Chris Exilus, Holland was the catalyst. When DePaul was not hitting shots, Holland was there to collect the garbage. He grabbed four offensive rebounds, mainly during the decisive run. The Blue Demons made up for the turnover margin (20-6) with good shooting (49 percent) and by dominating the glass (42-27). Quemont Greer and Andre Brown added to Holland’s performance, combining for 24 points and 21 rebounds. Johnson had a big day for the Blazers, earning a double-double with fourteen points and a career-high eleven assists. DePaul will play Cincinnati at 11:45 a.m., Saturday. No. 2 Cincinnati 66, No. 7 Saint Louis 46 Down 27-23 at the half, Saint Louis challenged the Bearcats during the first two minutes of the half, scoring on its first three possessions. But Cincinnati matched the Billikens on each possession, seemingly taking the energy out of the underdogs. Then the Bearcat outside shooters were unleashed. First Field Williams hit a bomb, followed by White, back-to-back treys by Bobbitt, and then the capper from Nick Williams. Baskets by Johnson and Armein Kirkland sprinkled in with the three-pointers completed the 19-0 run. The largest ovation in the game came when little-used John Meeker scored on a backdoor layup with 42.6 seconds remaining. His appearance only signified the game was well in hand. The win set up a rematch from eight days ago, when DePaul defeated the Bearcats in Chicago, 68-65. Back on Jan. 10, Cincinnati easily beat a Blue Demon squad without Andre Brown, 90-65.
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