College basketball

C-USA men: Muhammad back on stage for Bearcats

FORT WORTH, Texas - Jihad Muhammad lost his role as a Cincinnati starter three weeks ago because of his inconsistent play, and was scoreless with five turnovers in his only start since.

On Saturday, Muhammad showed how good he can be.

Muhammad made 8-of-11 shots for 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and the 24th-ranked Bearcats beat TCU 89-74. He added three assists and two steals, and had only two of Cincinnati's 22 turnovers.

"He doesn't pout, he doesn't sulk," coach Bob Huggins said. "He listens and tries to learn. He's putting extra time in, and is really receptive of what we're trying to tell him."

A week earlier at home, Muhammad was booed constantly during the turnover-plagued 14 minutes in which he had no assists.

Huggins and his teammates continued to encourage him. He responded by making 3-of-5 shots Thursday before his best game since his impressive debut three months ago.

"It means a great deal, me being down on myself and the team and coach still behind you," Muhammad said. "Definitely, I played terrible. I needed some kind of boost."

Muhammad had consecutive 3-pointers in a game-turning stretch and his jumper with 2:49 left in the first half put the Bearcats ahead to stay.

NO. 21 CHARLOTTE 81, SOUTHERN MISS 58: Senior Day always makes Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz mist up. This year, though, he's fending off a lump in his throat with the hope that he and his 49ers will be playing deep into March.

Charlotte closed its home schedule with its 10th straight win at Halton Arena and extended its overall winning streak to seven.

"I'm so happy for them and they all got the ovation they all deserved," Lutz said. "It's a fun day, but a really tough day in a lot of ways. The good thing is, we're going to keep playing. We're going to play another few weeks - hopefully five or six more weeks."

The 49ers made the game a blowout with a 14-0 run near the end of the first half. Eddie Basden hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, grabbed a ball stolen by teammate Brendan Plavich and stepped back for a long 2-pointer, then stole the ball and slammed it home on a fast break to make the lead 38-17 with 1:49 left in the half.

DEPAUL 53, SAINT LOUIS 49: Drake Diener scored 14 and Levar Seals added nine points and 13 rebounds for the host Blue Demons. Anthony Drejaj hit a 3-pointer and Izik Ohanon followed with a basket in the paint to close Saint Louis' deficit to 42-40 with just under eight minutes left. Marlon Brumfield answered for DePaul, scoring five straight.

UAB 87, TULANE 58: Demario Eddins scored 25 and Donell Taylor 17 to lead the host Blazers. Eddins became the 16th player in UAB history to reach 1,000 career points. The Blazers pulled out to a 36-27 halftime lead and blew the game open early in the second half with a 19-5 run.

HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 72: Guard Lanny Smith made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 19 seconds to preserve the win for the visiting Cougars. In his final game in Greenville, N.C., senior Moussa Badiane scored a game-high 22. It also was the final home game for Pirates coach Bill Herrion, who was asked last week to step down at the end of the season.

[Last modified February 27, 2005, 00:13:19]