No. 17 Cincinnati breezes past Rebels 90-72

Steve Addy

Sunday, Dec. 17, 2000 | 12:12 p.m.

After UNLV's emotion wore off Saturday night, it came down to talent and effort. And Cincinnati had both in far greater supply.

Seemingly energized by a tumultuous week in which they were put on probation and coach Bill Bayno was fired, the Rebels charged to a 12-1 lead in the first four minutes, but No. 17 Cincinnati was hardly fazed.

The Bearcats (5-2) totally outplayed the Rebels the rest of the way, breezing to a 90-72 victory before a disappointed crowd of 12,463 in the Las Vegas Showdown at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The curiosity factor was high for the Rebels' first game since Tuesday's NCAA sanctions and the firing of Bayno. With new coach Max Good at the controls, there was a palpable sense of hope and renewal in the building, and the Rebels' seemed to feed off it.

But only for a few minutes. After an opening salvo in which UNLV grabbed leads of 7-0, 12-1 and 14-4, it was the Bearcats' night. Cincy went on a 30-10 run for a 31-22 lead and maintained its edge the rest of the night, taking its biggest lead at 90-70.

Cincinnati's three-guard attack of Kenny Satterfield, Leonard Stokes and Steve Logan was simply dominant, combining for 63 of the Bearcats' 90 points on 22-of-42 field goals. Stokes scored 23 on 7-of-12 shooting, Logan 22 on 9-of-14 and Satterfield 18 (14 in the second half).

Dalron Johnson scored 17 and had six blocks to lead the Rebels, who fell to 3-5. Johnson had 14 points in the second half, when he was about the only offensive threat for UNLV. Jermaine Lewis had 15 points off the bench, Trevor Diggs 13 and Kaspars Kambala 12.

But the slumping Kambala had four fouls and sat for long stretches in the second half.

Good didn't take the loss kindly, criticizing the Rebels' toughness, emphasizing each point with a hard smack to the press room table.

"We've got some guys who better step up and start showing some intestinal fortitude," he said after his first game as a Division I head coach since 1989.

"I will go as deep (on the bench) as I have to. I can go over here to the door and find 12 guys who will come out and get beat by 20. (Cincinnati) is not that much better than we are. They're just a heck of a lot tougher. You win with toughness."

Good agreed that the Rebels let down after their starting burst but said, "That is typical of teams that don't know how to win. I knew Cincinnati would dig in -- they're foxhole guys."

The Rebels return to action Monday at home against Division II Alaska-Anchorage.