Both Coaches Disappointed At Ugly End to Xavier 76-53 Win Over Cincinnati

Xavier coach Chris Mack and Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin have known each other since the fifth grade.  Both shared disappointment in the ugly ending that actually cut the game 10 seconds short.

Xavier played its best game of the season according to Mack but what will be remembered is the ugly brawl that erupted under the Cincinnati basket within a few feet of the Cincinnati bench.

Cronin sensed it coming and tried in vain to call timeout before it exploded.  As close as he was to the action, he is unclear of exactly what happened.  He only knew something had to give.

"I tried to get some answers in there," Cronin said as he emerged from Cincinnati's locker room at the Cintas Center.  "I disappointed to be honest with you in everybody involved.  Whether our guys started it or their guys started it or you're upset because you lost there is no excuse."

"I was trying to call timeout.  Did you see me trying to call timeout?  It's a hard game to officiate but I was disappointed in it because it was going on all day.  I was told to shut up because I asked an official to tell guys to stop talking to our bench.  And if guys on our side were talking, well then give them a "T"  I thought they could have done better.  It's unfortunate.  It's not an easy situation for officials. It was too much.  That's not an excuse. It's just a fact."

The game was officiated by Michael Roberts, the crew chief who has worked Xavier games before.  Jeff Anderson and Tony Crisp were the other referees that are not as familiar with either team.  Crisp and Anderson declined comment as they left the center.

Xavier Athletic Director, Mike Bobinski, told reporters that he had not seen Crisp and Anderson and was not familiar with either's conference affiliation.

As of now, the ugliness is tangible.  Security officers cleared the hallways leading to the Cincinnati team bus in the Cintas Center and escorted the players out.  The police escorted the team bus back to the Clifton campus.

Mack also was disappointed in the ending in spite of  the pride he felt about his team's play.

"What happened takes away from the game," Mack said.  "I was disappointed.  I thought it was as clean a crosstown shootout as there has been.  There were hard fouls, loose balls. The only technical was given to me on a goal tending call.  We're all competitors."

The series has a history of high intensity emotional displays.

Byron Larkin and a Cincinnati player had a short skirmish in 1988 at Cincinnati Gardens.  There was the famous "no handshake game in 1994 when Xavier coach Pete Gillen and Cincinnati coach, Bob Huggins nearly came to blows after another game at the Gardens in 1994.  Huggins refused to shake hands after the game and the snub led to a confrontation.

The two campuses are five miles apart.  The players play with and against each other during the summer.  They frequent the same restaurants in the area.

What started the fight was unclear.  Roberts held a brief meeting to try to diffuse the situation before the start of the second half.  The effort failed.

"He told us that two players were talking to each other and that if they said anything else they were going to get a technical.  Mick talked to his player and I talked to mine and there was no technical," Mack said.

Right before halftime, Xavier forward, Dezmine Wells was upset about being hit in the mouth drawing blood.  He and UC player shoved each other.  Wells complained to the official near the scorers table as he left the game to stop the bleeding. "I'm trying to help you," the official said as Wells left the court.

Wells and UC player Yancy Gates are believed to be under scrutiny by officials in consultation with the supervisor of officials as they break down tapes of the incident.

The only injury seems to be the left eye of Xavier's Kenny Frease.  Mack said that he was being examined and no other players appear to be injured.

Cronin also blamed the UC media relations department for allowing Sean Kilpatrick to appear on Andy Furman's Talk Radio 1160 show earlier this week.  Kilpatrick said over the air that Xavier guard Tu Holloway, who is highly regarded by experts, "isn't as good as me and would not start on UC's team."

Kilpatrick heard chants of  "Who's Kilpatrick?" the entire game.

Cronin and Mack agreed that whatever was said should have been disregarded.

"Who cares?," Cronin said.  "Our media department shouldn't have let him talk to a guy known for stirring controversy.  Even so, it's no excuse for what happened."

"It is not about one player playing for respect," Mack said.  "It is about the team winning.  You have to ignore those things."

Cronin spent several minutes chastising college athletes for the behavior demonstrated at the end of the game.

"I work at a where the polio vaccine was discovered.  I try to remind our players that they are lucky to be getting an education at the institution much less on scholarship.  What's more important? Discovering the vaccine or a basketball game.  I made them take off their UC jersey's, some of them I took them off physically.  I will look at the tapes and see who deserves to be on this team moving forward.

Questions were asked about ending the series.

Neither coaches wanted it to end but both allowed for the possibility.

"I hope we can get past this and put this aside because the game itself.  Is a big game whether we get our ass kicked or kicked their's its a big game," Bobinski said.  "It means a lot to both schools it gets people talking in the city, brings a lot of exposure to both schools.  You just hope that its more positive."