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  Monday, Dec. 27 7:05pm ET
Martin scores career-high 26 points
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

CINCINNATI (AP) -- From the moment it took the court, third-ranked Cincinnati looked down on its opponent.

Kenyon Martin scored a career-high 26 points, towering over most of the defenders who came his way, as Cincinnati passed and shot over Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a 93-60 victory Monday night.

Kenyon Martin
Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin is fouled by Adrian Coffey, right, as Mike Sowder tries to help out.

The Bearcats (10-1) got the ball to their 6-foot-9 center in position to dunk, lay it in and hit uncontested turnaround jumpers. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (6-4) was helpless to do much about it.

"They just exploited a lot of our weaknesses," said center Chad Angeli, the only Panthers player who could see eye-to-eye with Martin.

Cincinnati played at a much higher level than Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- 5 inches higher, to be exact. That's how much taller Cincinnati's starters were on average.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee has only one starter taller than 6-foot-3 -- Angeli, who is 6-foot-9 and led the Panthers with 16 points. By contrast, Cincinnati has only one starter under 6-foot-6.

The Bearcats love to get the ball to their brawny front line and had plenty of chances Monday.

"That's our intention all the time," coach Bob Huggins said. "Get it to Kenyon in there and beat them inside."

Martin was 10-of-15 from the field as he shot over and went around the assortment of defenders who came his way.

"I just put it in my mind from here on out that when a team does that, I'm not going to let it stop me," Martin said. "No matter if there's two or three guys on me, I've got to find a way to get the ball."

The Panthers were craning their necks and looking up from the opening tip, when they found themselves with an amusing mismatch. Five-foot-9 guard Ronnie Jones had to get in the way of 6-foot-9 guard DerMarr Johnson.

Surprisingly, the Panthers posed a problem for Johnson, who was 1-of-7 from the field and finished with five points. Everyone else had an easy time.

Martin and 6-foot-6 forward Pete Mickeal took turns lobbing passes to each other for layups and dunks. Mickeal added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds, helping Cincinnati to a 43-27 advantage on the boards.

It was the Bearcats' first game in Cincinnati since a 66-64 loss to crosstown rival Xavier on the Musketeers' court Dec. 18.

This one was such an obvious mismatch that the capacity crowd of 13,176 had a hard time finding plays to cheer. By the Bearcats' second possession of the game, the crowd was as hushed as the snowflakes falling outside.

The Bearcats took control with an 18-6 spurt midway through the first half. Mickeal had six points in the run, which was fashioned on tough man-to-man defense. Wisconsin-Milwaukee went 2-for-14 from the field during the eight-minute span.

Martin had six points and Mickeal five in a 14-4 spurt that opened the second half and made it 54-28. Martin took over the game as it wound down, scoring 10 points in an 11-1 run that pushed the lead to 34 points.
 


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Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Wisconsin-Milwaukee Clubhouse

Cincinnati Clubhouse