TicketsDec. 22, 2012
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CINCINNATI — JaQuon Parker tied his season high with 21 points and No. 11 Cincinnati defeated Wright State 68-58 Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena to improve its record to 12-0 for the eighth time in school history.
Cincinnati bounced back from a 24.3-percent first-half shooting performance, as well as a six-point halftime deficit, to record a 54.8-shot rate in the second half. Parker led the comeback after scoring 15 points in the first 6:05 of the second half.
In addition to Parker, Sean Kilpatrick produced 12 points and Titus Rubles scored 11 and added a team-best nine rebounds.
Defensively, the Bearcats limited the Raiders to 32.2 percent shooting, the ninth opponent held under 40 percent, and blocked 10 shots, which marked the seventh game in 2012-13 the Bearcats swatted at least eight shots. Centers David Nyarsuk (4) and Kelvin Gaines (3) combined to block seven shots.
On the glass, UC out-rebounded WSU 49-38 and converted 20 offensive rebounds into 25 second-chance points.
Wright State (8-4) scored the opening basket of the second half to take a 30-22 lead, the largest deficit of the season for UC, before Parker scored 10 consecutive points over a 1:38 span to give the Bearcats the lead.
Cincinnati went on an 11-0 run minutes later to build its lead to 45-34 with 12:52 left in the second half. A 9-3 run in the final stages of the game gave UC its largest lead, at 63-47, before the Bearcats held on for the win. UC is now 9-0 all time against Wright State.
UC went into halftime trailing Wright State 28-22; the second game in a row the Bearcats fell behind after the first 20 minutes.
Both teams labored on the offensive end in the first half after combining to shoot 25 percent from the field (17 for 68).
Wright State went the first 13:47 of the game before making a 2-point field goal, missing its first 12 shots from inside the arc. The Raiders finished the first half making 4 of 19 from 2-point range and 4 of 12 from deep.
Cincinnati did not fare any better shooting-wise, ending the first half 8 of 31 (25.8 percent) overall and 4 of 12 from 3-point range. The Bearcats' rebounding prowess kept them in the game in the first half as they converted 13 offensive boards into 14 second-chance points.
At the 8:17 mark of first half, the Bearcats went on a 7-0 run over a 1-minute span to go ahead 18-15. However, Wright State responded by ending the half by outscoring UC 13-4.
UC returns to action Thursday when the Bearcats welcome No. 16/17 New Mexico to Fifth Third Arena for a 9 p.m. contest that will be televised live on ESPN2.