Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson ends Rutgers’ season

BY MIKE VORKUNOV

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

NEW YORK — On Tuesday afternoon Lance Stephenson accepted his award as the Big East Rookie of the Year. He had, by all regards, edged out Dane Miller for the prize.

With 16 seconds left their fates met again and the game tied at 68. The two dynamic freshmen matched up against each other once more. This time Stephenson proved his prominence on the court.

He drove left on Miller, got into the lane and drew a foul on a layup attempt. Stephenson then hit the first of two free throws before erring on the second. The miss proved irrelevant, as that's all Cincinnati needed to end Rutgers' season, 69-68, in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

With 23 seconds remaining Mike Rosario hit an off-balance straightaway three-pointer to tie the game at 68, setting up the battle of the precocious forwards.

The penultimate play of the game, which was followed by a Rosario 3/4-court heave that fell way short, ended a trying and embattled season for the Scarlet Knights.

It had its bright spot, often punctuated by Hamady N'diaye. N'diaye once again did his part last night. He set the program record for blocks with 358, thanks to five against the Bearcats, making the record his own by swatting the shot of his best friend Ibrahima Thomas. N'diaye also set the season record, which now stands at 145.

"I'm really happy," he said with a mega-watt smile of owning the record. "I always wanted to leave a mark at Rutgers and everything. This was one of the ways besides everything good I did on the court, with all the guys as the captain and leader and everything. But it's one of the things I probably could come back later on and read somewhere about it."

While N'diaye's career definitely over, questions still abound about his coach.

The buzzards started to fly around Fred Hill midseason following an 0-8 start to the conference season, following him to the Garden. A resurgent finish allayed some of them.

"I'm sure he's going to be here," said N'diaye of his coach. "We did everything together for four years so I'm pretty confident."

That the Knights made marked improvements throughout the year makes the case for Hill, despite the tough ending yesterday.

Rutgers went shot for shot with the Bearcats all the way until 7:35 remaining in the game and RU leading 52-51. After Miller missed a shot, Stephenson grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast. He finished with a layup and added one after he was fouled. He then stole the inbounds pass at halfcourt and did the same, giving Cincinnati a 57-52 lead they would let slip away but never relinquish.

Stephenson finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists. His counterpart Miller scored only one point but added eight assists and five rebounds.

"A little ironic that two great freshmen in a big game in a Big East Tournament in the Garden," Hill said of the pair.

Rutgers found themselves down 65-59 with 44 seconds remaining and clawed back into it before the backbreaking move by Stephenson.

"I'm extremely proud of the way they played," said Hill. "They put themselves in a position to win the game. And really deserved a shot to come away with a great win here in the Garden. I wish we could have gotten it into overtime and give them five more minutes."

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