Mick Cronin: Cincinnati basketball coach, tries to confront Xavier player, pulled off court

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Cincinnati's famed Crosstown Shootout reached new rivalry heights Saturday when coach Mick Cronin and Xavier's J.P. Macura exchanged pleasantries.

The duo got into it after the Musketeers beat the Bearcats 89-76.

Both teams lined up for postgame handshakes before the groups parted ways. Cronin walked off the court, before looking back at Macura. He walked swiftly back onto the court to confront the Xavier player. A referee and a Cincinnati staff member escorted the coach off of the court.

Cronin told reporters in his postgame comments that Marcura had some explicit words for him.

"I've never had a kid tell me to F off three times before," Cronin said. "During the game and after the game. You know who it was. Same guy it always is every year. 15 years I've been a head coach. Five years with [Bob Huggins], two with coach [Rick] Pitino. I've never seen anything like it."

"There is nothing to talk about where I come from there is nothing to talk about. If he was playing for me, he wouldn't play. He wouldn't play."

Xavier coach Chris Mack backed up his player and even mentioned a past incident involving former Cincinnati star Lance Stephenson.

"There are two thoughts to the story," Mack told reporters. "There was a reason that their coach was issued a technical in the game. There is a reason for that. I know that reason because the official told me what happened. So I'm not going to have the narrative be anything other than us playing better than Cincinnati and beating Cincinnati tonight."

"As far as he would never play on my team. I'm going to go back to 2009, 2010. When I was the head coach. And Lance Stephenson in front of me, right in front of me, called me the 'n' word three times and said 'F you.' After the game, guess what I did. I shook his hand. I shook his hand. That's it."

Macura and Cronin received two of the three technical fouls issued in Saturday's game. Macura had seven points in the victory.