Raiders Turned Foes
by DEVIN GOLDEN
NICEVILLE — Darnell Harris found himself open for the first of many times Friday at the Emerald Coast Classic — and didn't miss.
Seconds later, it was former-teammate-turnedopponent Farad Cobb's turn. He pump-faked a defender in the air, dribbled twice and sank a mid-range jumper. Then the Cincinnati guard swiped the ball from a Middle Tennessee State University player and coasted for an easy layup.
For anyone who watched Northwest Florida State play last season, plays from these two aren't surprising. In fact, seeing it in The Arena was quite regular.
Cobb's undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Harris' MTSU Blue Raiders 69-51 in the semifinals of the inaugural local Division I college basketball tournament. The result preceded Ole Miss upsetting No. 23 Creighton 75-68 andfollowed Northern Arizona beating Southern (La.) 70-63 in overtime and North Carolina Central winning 65-40 against Eastern Illinois.
That sets up today's games: Cincinnati plays Ole Miss at 8 p.m. in the championship, with Eastern Illinois playing Southern at 11 a.m., North Carolina Central playing Northern Arizona at 1:30 p.m. and Creighton playing MTSU at 5 p.m.
The Cincinnati-MTSU game served as a homecoming for Cobb and Harris, who played last season for NWF State.
"He has been talking trash all summer," Harris said. "He won today but it was pretty fun out there."
Harris' 15 points, coming from five 3-pointers, led MTSU, while Cobb's nine points and three rebounds aided Cincinnati's effort.
"I was proud of Darnell that he got to come back to a place he had a lot of success at last year," MTSU coach Kermit Davis said. "He shot the ball well. We have to get him rebounding better."
Neither started, but Cobb entered just after the 16-minute mark and Harris entered the game for the first time less than a minute later.
"For some reason, I was kind of nervous when the game started," Cobb said. "I don't know why. Once I got out there, it was all fun."
Cobb, who introduced himself to Cincinnati fans earlier this month with a 24-point game in a 69-61 win against Morehead State, drained a corner 3-pointer at 6:19 left in the first half to put the Bearcats up 23-10. Harris checked into the scoring sheet with a 3-pointer at 3:18 left, and ignited the scoring flurry between the two.
"Farad is going to have a great career for us," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "He can make shots. He's good with the ball and has a really good attitude. He also loves basketball. He's always in the gym."
Cobb started all 28 games he played last year for NWF State. He averaged 15.1 points 4.4 rebounds and shot 51.1 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-pointers. Harris started 18 of his 27 games played, averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds and shot 53.6 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range.
They only have two remaining years of eligibility to make the most of their collegiate careers. Cronin, in his ninth year at Cincinnati, often recruits junior college players.
"You have to treat them like veterans," Cronin said. "You can't treat them like first-year guys."
Former teammates became opponents Wednesday. That doesn't mean their friendship died with their college career going separate ways.
"He got hot," Cobb said of Harris, "and I know he'll tell me about making those shots later."