The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Football Falls To Cincinnati, 31-23
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 30, 2002
CINCINNATI (AP) - DeMarco McCleskey caught two touchdown passes and ran for another as Cincinnati kept its bowl hopes alive with a 31-23 victory over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
Gino Guidugli completed 14 of 22 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for the Bearcats (6-6, 5-2 Conference USA).
Cincinnati can become bowl-eligible for the third straight year with a victory at East Carolina on Friday.
Cincinnati tied it at 17 on Jonathan Ruffin's field goal with 3:18 left in the third quarter, but Nick Hayes kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to put UAB up 23-17 with 11:21 left. Less than three minutes later, McCleskey caught a screen pass from Guidugli and ran 15 yards for a score, then ran 14 yards for another touchdown with 3:30 to go.
The Blazers (5-7, 4-4) opened the scoring on an 8-yard run from Thomas Cox, but Cincinnati tied it on Guidugli's first scoring pass to McCleskey.
Hayes kicked a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter, the first of his three.
UAB outrushed the Bearcats 141-37 in the first half and scored 13 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. Kendal Gibson, with 79 yards on 13 carries, and Thomas Cox, with 61 yards on 19 carries, each had rushing touchdowns.
