TicketsNov. 1, 2011
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
CINCINNATI - Nine different Bearcats scored as the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team opened 2011-12 exhibition play with a 75-41 win over McGill University Tuesday evening at Fifth Third Arena.
Senior guard Dion Dixon (Chicago/Crane Technical Prep Common) paced a trio of Cincinnati double-digit scorers with 20 points, followed by 19 from senior forward Yancy Gates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow) and 14 from junior guard Cashmere Wright (Savannah, Ga./Urban Christian Academy).
Cincinnati, which finished the 2010-11 season first in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring defense, picked up where it left off last year by forcing 24 turnovers, blocking 10 shots and holding McGill to a 31.4 field-goal percentage.
The Bearcats scored 28 points off of McGill's turnovers and converted 13 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
UC pulled away from McGill when it began the second half with a 20-4 run that started with back-to-back three-pointers from Wright and Dixon and increased the UC's lead to 48-27. After ending the game with a 13-5 run, the Bearcats outscored McGill 47-18 in the second half.
After being outrebounded in the first half 18-15, UC responded by grabbing 21 boards in the second period compared to 14 for McGill to give the Bearcats a 37-29 edge for the game.
McGill second-year forward Tristan Renaud-Tremblay, who recorded a game-high 22 points, started the game with six consecutive points to give the Redmen an early lead that they increased to 14-8.
Trailing 16-12 at the 10:32 mark of the first half, Cincinnati went on a 14-0 run over a span of 7:34 to take control of the game. The run featured four points from Gates, as well as freshman guard Jermaine Sanders' (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Rice) first collegiate field-goal, a long jumper from the right elbow.
A Gates layup with 5:11 left in the first half gave UC its first lead at 18-16. From that point on, the Bearcats led for the remainder of the game.
The Bearcats, who went into halftime leading 28-23, were led in the first half by Gates (13 points, three rebounds) and Wright (five points).
Renaud-Tremblay led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
UC shot just 38.5 percent (10 for 26) from the field in the first half, but limited McGill to 36 percent (9 for 25) by playing pressure defense that totaled six steals and five blocks.
Cincinnati resumes preseason action 7 p.m. Tuesday when it plays host to Northern Kentucky University at Fifth Third Arena.