TicketsFinal Stats | Notes For Ole Miss Game
NICEVILLE, Fla. --
The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team used its most complete performance of the season on Friday evening, taking a 69-51 decision from Middle Tennessee to move to 5-0 and adance to the Emerald Coast Classic championship game.
The Bearcats were paced by 11 points from Troy Caupain (Midlothian, Va./Cosby), but had a total of five players score at least nine points. Jermaine Sanders (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Rice) joined Caupain in double figures with 10 points. Gary Clark (Clayton, N.C./Clayton), Deshaun Morman (Richmond, Va./Faith Baptist Christian (Fla.)) and Farad Cobb (West Palm Beach, Fla./Northwest Fla. St. College) each contributed nine points apiece.
It was a nice homecoming for Cobb, who connected on three of six shots from the floor while playing at Northwest Florida State College where he spent his sophomore season.
The Bearcats controlled the game from the start, using a stifling defense to build a 12-0 lead over the first eight minutes. Cincinnati never looked back and built a 37-19 halftime lead behind a blistering 71.4-percent field goal percentage. On the flipside, UC held MTSU to 19.2-percent shooting and forced eight Blue Raider turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
In the end, balance was the story for Cincinnati. UC shot 56.8-percent from the game and all 10 players who saw more than one minute of action scored from the field. In addition, five players each recorded two assists to lead the team. Octavius Ellis (Memphis, Tenn./Trinity Valley College (Texas)) led on the glass with nine rebounds while Clark added seven.
The Bearcats advance to tomorrow's championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic where they will face Ole Miss. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET and the contest can be seen on CBS Sports Network.