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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team used a strong run out of halftime to knock off Temple 84-53, Saturday in American Athletic Conference action at Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati (12-5, 3-2 American) drew a season-best crowd of 12,071, scored a season high 84 points and put a bad second half from its previous game in the rearview mirror, shooting nearly 80 percent (.769) and outscoring Temple (12-7, 3-3 American) by 30 points, 55-25 in the last 20 minutes.
In its last game at Memphis on Thursday night, UC shot 39.1 percent, was 5-of-15 from behind the three-point line and lost by 13 after closing to within four with nine minutes left.
Tonight, the Bearcats led by one at the half, tied its second-best shooting percentage of the season (.538), tied a season high with nine threes made and drew a season-high crowd brought its feet early and often in the second half as UC made its first 11 shots and put the game away with a 40-10 run in the first eight minutes out of the break.
Some of the loudest cheers of the night came during a 58-second span that saw Farad Cobb (West Palm Beach, Fla./NW Florida State College) and Jermaine Sanders (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Rice) drain threes and Sanders add a tip in off a missed three that capped a 16-0 Bearcats run over 2:57 where UC led 69-38 with just over eight minutes to go.
UC took care of the ball Saturday, with only eight turnovers after a season-high 20 giveaways at Memphis on Thursday. Along with draining a season-high tying nine triples, the Bearcats controlled the inside game, outscoring Temple 34-18 and winning the rebounding battle by a 36-22 margin.
Sanders led the way with a career-high 16 points on a 7-for-9 shooting night. He hit two threes and grabbed six rebounds. Kevin Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) tallied 14, knocking down 4-of-5 three-point attempts and adding two rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Octavius Ellis (Memphis, Tenn./Trinity Valley CC) finished with 13, going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out two assists and blocking a shot. Gary Clark (Clayton, N.C./Clayton) added 11, pulling down eight rebounds and dishing a pair of assists.
Jesse Morgan led the way for the Owls with 15 points and five rebounds. Obi Enechionyia was 6-of-8 from the field and had 14 points.
Temple was without its second-leading scorer, Will Cummings, who averages 12.9 points per game and ranks in the Top-5 in the American in assists, steals, minutes and assists-turnover ratio.
Cincinnati led 29-28 at the half, overcoming some offensive lulls with defense and free-throw shooting. The Bearcats started the game on a 7-0 run, but struggled to a 32.1 shooting percentage (9-28) in the opening 20 minutes. UC won the rebounding battle early, 29-28, and went 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
UC is back in action Wednesday, closing out a brief two-game homestand with visiting Houston. The two squads will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPNews in the first of two matchups for the two squads this season.
To purchase tickets for all UC home men's basketball games, visit BearcatsBasketball.com or call 1-877-CATS-TIX for more information about all ticket options.