CINCINNATI (AP) -- Muscular forward Eric Hicks wrapped his arms

around his former coach, Bob Huggins. Cheek-to-cheek, they

squeezed, talked and cried.

The tears were just starting to flow.

There were more embraces all around Saturday after Hicks scored

18 points and led Cincinnati to a nostalgic 78-75 victory over West Virginia (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP), one that could extend the Bearcats' streak of 14

NCAA tournament appearances.

"That was our Super Bowl," interim coach Andy Kennedy said.

It felt like a title game.

Ousted coach Huggins attended a game at the arena for the first

time since he was forced out last August. He got a standing ovation

and hugged the Bearcats' five seniors during pre-game festivities --

a surreal start to an important game.

The Bearcats (19-11, 8-8 Big East) felt they needed a

high-profile win to strengthen their credentials for the NCAA

tournament. A team that has been in turmoil since Huggins'

departure in August earned it with big contributions from its

seniors and two clinching free throws from its freshman point

guard.

Devan Downey's two free throws with 1.3 seconds left clinched

the win and completed his 16-point performance. Jihad Muhammad

added 17.

"I just came out with energy," said Downey, who went 0-for-4

and failed to score in his last game. "We couldn't let the seniors

go out with a loss."

West Virginia (20-9, 11-5 ) didn't have much at stake in its

final regular-season game. The Mountaineers had already clinched

third place in the Big East and were guaranteed a first-round bye

in the conference tournament.

Coach John Beilein was pleased with the Mountaineers' grit under

the circumstances, staying with the revved Bearcats right to the

end.

"I think we proved out point, the fact that we handled it well

and, believe it or not, should have momentum going into the

tournament," Beilein said. "We might be the only team in the

country to have momentum going into the tournament after a loss."

Kevin Pittsnogle led the Mountaineers with 23 points, and Mike

Gansey went 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc while scoring 20.

The Bearcats' final home game showed they still haven't gotten

beyond Huggins' ouster. He repeatedly got standing ovations from

the capacity crowd of 13,176, which also chanted for school

president Nancy Zimpher to give Kennedy a contract.

The program is still at a crossroads.

After Downey made his two clinching free throws, Hicks jumped

into the student section and Kennedy got a hug from Huggins.

Kennedy then thanked the fans for supporting the team through its

tribulations, adding, "One last thing: Huggs, we love you,

brother."

"I thought it took a lot of courage for coach to come,"

Kennedy said afterward. "It shows you what kind of man he is. It's

a tribute to these seniors. They wanted him to come. I thought it

was fitting going against his alma mater in a game that decided our

season."

Huggins was invited by Hicks, one of the five seniors who

received framed photographs of themselves at midcourt during a

pre-game tribute. Huggins stood at an opposite end of the court

while the seniors were introduced.

Hicks then led the seniors over to Huggins, who embraced each of

them while the crowd exulted. Hicks wiped away tears with his white

warmup shirt after the embrace. Huggins dabbed a tear from the

corner of his right eye.

"I wanted to be here, but I didn't want to do anything they

(the school) didn't want me to do," Huggins said.

While the two of them embraced, Hicks thought back to his three

years under Huggins.

"Everything just came back and it was a very emotional

moment," he said.

West Virginia tried to overcome the Bearcats' emotion by getting

the ball inside to the 6-foot-11 Pittsnogle, who likes to shoot

3-pointers but could do more damage inside. Pittsnogle is 5 inches

taller than anyone on the Bearcats' front line.

He shook loose from the 6-foot-6 Hicks and made a layup that

started a 9-0 run and put the Mountaineers up 16-12 and got the

crowd grumbling.

Cincinnati's tight man-to-man defense -- its trademark under

Huggins -- started taking a toll, forcing the Mountaineers to rush

their shots. The defense fueled a 15-2 spurt capped by Hicks'

emphatic dunk, putting the Bearcats ahead to stay 33-23.

Muhammad hit a jumper and a pair of 3's during an 11-1 spurt

that built the lead to 48-35 early in the second half.

A pair of 3's by Gansey cut it to 66-64 with 5:03 to go, setting

a back-and-forth tone for the rest of the way. The Bearcats held on

by going 3-of-5 from the free-throw line in the final 12 seconds.