TicketsNov. 5, 2012
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CINCINNATI -- The 24th-ranked University of Cincinnati men's basketball team closed out preseason exhibition play by producing an 86-51 win over Bellarmine University on Monday evening at Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati shot a red-hot 54 percent (34 of 63) from the field as team - including 46.2 percent (9 for 21) from three-point range - as 11 of 12 Bearcats scored at least two points, including five who totaled double digits.
UC senior guard JaQuon Parker (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) led the way with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while senior point guard Cashmere Wright (Savannah, Ga./Urban Christian Academy), junior forward Titus Rubles (Dallas, Texas/Blinn College [Texas]) and sophomore guard Jeremiah Davis III (Muncie, Ind./Huntington Prep [W.Va.]) each scored 13 points.
All of Wright's points came in the first half after he made 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, while Davis got all his points in the second half with a 5-of-7 shooting night.
The Bearcats pulled away from Bellarmine in the second half when they opened the period with a 19-0 run that put them up by 40 points at 64-24. Rubles, who led UC with six rebounds, and Parker led the charge with eight and six points, respectively.
UC went into halftime with a 45-24 lead after Wright (13), Parker (10) and redshirt junior guard Sean Kilpatrick (9) accounted for 32 points in the first half. Kilpatrick (Yonkers, N.Y./Notre Dame Prep) was the fifth double-digit scoring Bearcat after he finished the night with 11 points.
After a close back-and-forth affair through the game's opening minutes, the Bearcats found themselves ahead by three points before they went on a 17-5 run to take a 34-19 lead at the 6:54 mark. Three treys from Wright and a pair by Kilpatrick sparked the run.
The UC bench spearheaded an 11-3 run to close out the first half gave the Bearcats a 45-24 halftime lead.
UC enjoyed a 22-13 first-half rebounding advantage, led by senior center Cheikh Mbodj (Dakar, Senegal/Grayson County [Texas] College) and Kilpatrick, who pulled down four boards apiece. Mbodj added a game-high three blocked shots in 17 minutes of play.
Cincinnati will open regular season play Sunday at 2 p.m. ET when it welcomes the University of Tennessee-Martin to Fifth Third Arena. The game can be seen live on FOX Sports Ohio.