C-USA: Arizona survives, barely, as star gets a lesson in humility
By wire services
Published December 19, 2004
MILWAUKEE - Salim Stoudamire kept his head up and encouraged his teammates. He didn't sulk or pout when things went wrong.
That's what Arizona coach Lute Olson wants to see Stoudamire do on the court.
Olson benched Stoudamire, his leading scorer, on Saturday, when No. 15 Arizona edged Marquette 48-43 despite the Wildcats' fewest points in nearly 20 years.
Olson didn't like the way his senior star moped after being held to a career-low one field-goal attempt in a victory over Utah last week, Stoudamire's third scoreless game in 101 at Arizona.
"It was just a case where I felt it was the only way for him to begin to gain a positive attitude," Olson said. "We just need him to meet team responsibilities as a senior when on the court."
Lesson learned, Stoudamire insisted.
He said he realizes that "regardless of what's going on (in a game) I have to be there emotionally for my teammates. I have to get everybody into it."
Marquette coach Tom Crean knew he hadn't caught a break when he heard Stoudamire wouldn't play: "You just knew they were going to come out with a real chip on their shoulder."
And he knew Stoudamire's replacement, Chris Rodgers, was no slouch.
"Chris Rodgers would start for most teams in America," Crean said. "He just happens to be behind some All-Americans at Arizona."
Rodgers keyed the victory with 16 points and six rebounds and made a key layup in the final minute when he blew past Steve Novak into an open lane.
Hassan Adams added 14 points for the visitors, including two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to seal the victory after he grabbed the rebound off teammate Ivan Radenovic's errant 3-pointer.
The teams combined for three field goals over the last nine minutes. Arizona hadn't scored so few since a 50-41 loss to Alabama in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. And Marquette scored four over the final 10:07.
Arizona trailed 43-42 when Adams sank two free throws with 2:06 left. The Golden Eagles found it harder and harder to get off a good shot against the athletic Wildcats and never regained the lead.
Of Marquette's 49 shots, 24 were 3-point attempts, and the Golden Eagles sank only seven.
Marquette, which had its 34-game home winning streak snapped, got 14 points from Travis Diener, who became the school's career 3-point leader but was 5-of-17 from the floor. Novak scored 11.
NO. 25 UC 81, N'WESTERN ST. 65: Jason Maxiell scored 21, 14 in the second half, to lead the host Bearcats in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. Cincinnati, ranked for the first time this season, played its 500th game under coach Bob Huggins, who is 381-119 there.
Tramaine Hancock scored 12 and Clifton Lee 11 to lead the Demons, who lost their third in a row after five straight wins.
Cincinnati, looking rusty in its first game in nine days, led the entire first half until Hancock made back-to-back 3-pointers in the last minute to tie the score at 36 at halftime.
Northwestern State took its only lead of the second half with 17:07 left, when Lee's jump shot made it 40-39. The Bearcats regained the lead with two free throws and a layup from Jihad Muhammad.
Northwestern State pulled to 46-45 with 12:36 left on Hancock's 3-pointer. But Maxiell followed with five straight points.
Byron Allen kept the Demons close by scoring on three straight possessions before fouling out with 9:49 left and Cincinnati leading 55-51. The Bearcats pulled away with a 12-0 run in which Nick Williams scored six on free throws.
SO. MISS 88, LSU 84 (OT): Michael Ford made a layup with 1.1 seconds left to tie the score at the end of regulation, then hit four late free throws in overtime to lift the Golden Eagles at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Jasper Johnson had a career-high 27 points for Southern Mississippi.
Ford, who scored 10, made two free throws with 19.7 seconds left in overtime to give Southern Miss an 86-82 lead. He made two more free throws with 5.8 seconds left.
DePAUL 80, UIC 62: Quemont Greer had a career-high 32 points and nine rebounds to lead the host Blue Demons. DePaul trailed 40-33 before going on a 10-2 run early in the second half, capped by Sammy Mejia's 3-pointer to for a 43-42 lead with 16:05 left.
DAYTON 62, SAINT LOUIS 54: Brian Roberts came off the bench to score 14 and lead the visiting Flyers. After the Billikens took a 50-49 lead with 5:36 left, Dayton went on a 13-4 run to secure its third win in a row.
State
UM 81, STETSON 50: Guillermo Diaz scored 14 and Gary Hamilton recorded his first career double double to lead the host Hurricanes.
Hamilton finished with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds off the bench for Miami, which has won five straight and six of its first eight under first-year coach Frank Haith.
Miami led 30-23 at halftime, then opened the second half with an 18-5 run, taking a 48-28 lead on guard Robert Hite's three-point play with 13:52 left. Hite scored seven in that run, including a hanging reverse layup on a lob pass from Diaz.
