No. 8 Cincinnati Overwhelms UW Bearcats Have Too Much Firepower As They Win In Seattle

The Washington Huskies were ready for No. 8 Cincinnati on Monday night. They just weren’t good enough.

“I don’t think we represented the Pac-10 well because we lost,” Washington’s Jamie Booker said.

The Bearcats won their fourth straight after an 11-point loss at Louisville, getting 22 points from powerful Danny Fortson and 19 from 3-point bomber Darnell Burton in an 82-69 victory.

“We responded very well to their emotion,” Fortson said. “Every time they came up with a big play, we were able to answer it.”

Fortson had 14 of his points in the second half and Burton sank five 3-pointers, four in the first half when he had 12 points.

“We didn’t get the ball to Danny in the first half,” Burton said. “Washington did a good job keeping the ball out of his hands.”

The Bearcats (18-4) made the trip to Seattle because they owed Washington a game under a two-game contract. The Huskies visited Cincinnati in 1993.

Cincinnati outscored Washington 14-7 in the final 3:56 after the Huskies closed to within 68-62 when Donald Watts drove for a dunk.

Mark Sanford led Washington (13-7) with 18 points.

The biggest play of the game came after Washington sliced Cincinnati’s lead to six points. Bobby Brannen’s 10-footer bounced high and dropped into the basket for Cincinnati, while Fortson was fouled on the play. Fortson hit both free throws to give the Bearcats a 72-62 lead with 3:24 left.

Cincinnati committed only one turnover in the second half after making 15 in the first.

The Huskies were hurt when their two 7-footers, Todd MacCulloch and Patrick Femerling, fouled out with 6:12 and 5:50 to go, respectively.

(8) Cincinnati 82, Washington 69

Cincinnati (18-4) - Patterson 4-6 2-2 10, Fortson 6-10 10-14 22, Flint 6-9 0-0 12, Williams 1-2 1-2 3, Brannen 1-3 0-0 2, Burton 5-11 4-4 19, Martin 2-2 0-1 4, Baker 2-2 0-0 4, Julson 1-1 0-0 3, Monroe 0-0 2-4 2, Levett 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 28-46 20-29 82.

Washington (13-7) - Sanford 7-15 4-5 18, MacCulloch 3-7 0-0 6, Wooten 1-3 0-0 2, Watts 4-7 1-2 9, Booker 4-7 4-4 13, Luton 4-6 0-0 9, Femerling 2-3 3-4 7, Thompson 1-2 3-5 5, Walcott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 15-20 69.

Halftime-Cincinnati 35, Washington 26. 3-Point goals-Cincinnati 6-16 (Burton 5-11, Julson 1-1, Patterson 0-1, Flint 0-3), Washington 2-11 (Luton 1-3, Booker 1-4, Sanford 0-2, Watts 0-2). Fouled out-MacCulloch, Femerling. Rebounds-Cincinnati 25 (Fortson 11), Washington 20 (Watts 5). Assists-Cincinnati 11 (Williams, Burton 3), Washington 16 (Sanford 4). Total fouls-Cincinnati 22, Washington 22. A-7,787.