Bearcats Win Opener Over Brown

Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com

CINCINNATI - Kyle Washington's return to college basketball was well worth the wait.

The transfer from North Carolina State, forced to sit out last year under NCAA rules, introduced himself to University of Cincinnati fans with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds Friday night. He also tossed in five assists for good measure in the Bearcats' 84-55 season-opening victory over Brown before 6,504 fans at Fifth Third Arena.

The game was part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which will conclude next weekend in Uncasville, Conn., where the Bearcats will play No. 23 Rhode Island on Saturday. If they win, they'll play Saturday against the winner of the game between Penn State and top-ranked Duke.

Sophomore guard Jacob Evans, who did not play in UC's exhibition win over Bellarmine as he recovered from a foot injury, was equally impressive with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. And junior forward Gary Clark just missed joining Washington in the double-double circle when he scored 14 points with nine rebounds and four assists.

But all eyes were on Washington, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound junior forward from Champlin, Minn., who can score both inside and outside. He didn't disappoint.

"Everything was beautiful out there," Washington said. "It was worth it for sure."

Washington picked up an over-the-back foul minutes into the game. Coming off two quick fouls that limited his minutes against Bellarmine, it was a bad early sign.\

"I was like, please don't start this again," Washington said. "Then I relaxed and told myself, use your position, keep on jumping to the ball and just be smart. Be aggressive but pick your spots to be aggressive. Once I got in the flow, minutes passed by and I stayed out of foul trouble. I believe I only ended with one."

The Bearcats (1-0) jumped out to an 11-1 lead and held Brown (0-1) without a field goal until the 13:21 mark of the first half. Brown came back to get within three points at 14-11, but UC, which shot 62.1 percent in the first half, closed with a 9-0 run to take a 43-25 lead into halftime. The Bears, who were led by JR Hobbie's 12 points, never made a serious run in the second half, getting no closer than 16 points.

UC finished the game with 57.9 percent shooting, out-rebounded Brown, 43-23, and scored 48 points in the paint to 14 for the Bears. About the only things the Bearcats didn't do well were free throw shooting (12-for-20) and 3-point shooting (6-22).

"I thought the guys were ready to play tonight," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "Our energy was great and our effort was great. We brought our toughness and that's the most important thing."

Cronin said Washington was so fired up to be playing again that at times it appeared as if he were hyperventilating on the court.

"He's so excited to play at Cincinnati and get his career started again," Cronin said. "I never had anybody like that. He is very similar to (Sean Kilpatrick). That dude loves basketball. I've never said relax this many times to a player. Never. He gets himself so worked up. There were a couple times when he just stopped. He couldn't breathe. He can do a lot of things. I told him he showed it all, even the three off the side of the backboard."

Evans is looking to build on a freshman year that saw him average 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds while averaging 24.4 minutes per game, concluding his rookie season with a 26-point game in the NCAA Tournament against St. Joseph's (Pa.). He missed the better part of two weeks during the pre-season because of the foot injury as Cronin proceeded with caution, but practiced full-go Monday and showed no effects from the injury.

"As a basketball player, when you take some time off, you always fear that your game might become a little sloppy," Evans said, "but I worked hard this week trying to get back into the flow of things and it paid off tonight. I was getting a little antsy. Coming out today, I was just excited as soon as I woke up in the hotel."

Cronin was so pleased to see Evans' shots falling (he was 4-of-6 from long range) that he said he grew an inch with every one that went in and felt his blood pressure drop 10 points. If that's the case, he should be about 7-feet tall by the end of the season, assuming that Evans continues to play the way he did against Brown.

"He's a great player," Cronin said. "You guys are just seeing Jacob Evans scratch the surface. I told his mom when I recruited him, 'Your son is going to be a star.' What you saw tonight I saw it all summer. The difference this year is that you'll see him making more plays off the dribble."

Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years - 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer - before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.