Second-Half Surge Leads Bearcats Past Albany

They spent the first half shooting 32.1 percent, getting out-rebounded, 19-15, and out-scored in the paint 14-12, although they still managed to hold a two-point lead over Albany.

But in the second half, spurred by a defense that created a slew of transition baskets - many of them by sophomore guard Jacob Evans - the Bearcats looked every bit like a ranked team, shooting 57.6 percent, forcing 11 turnovers and riding a 21-4 outburst to run away with a 74-51 victory over Albany on Monday night before 5,864 fans at Fifth Third Arena.

"Tonight was a great game for us," said UC coach Mick Cronin, "especially with what we've got coming this weekend. We needed some resistance, some physicality, and Albany gave it to usp. They really dig in on the defensive end. They're extremely physical legally in the low post with their body. It took us until the second half to adjust to that. We didn't play well in the first half and that's because Albany made us look bad."

The Albany game was the second of four for UC in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament. The remaining two will be played Saturday and Sunday at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The Bearcats (2-0) will play No. 21 Rhode Island in the first game. If they win, they'll play the winner of the game between Penn State and No. 1 Duke.

Albany (1-1) came to town with a little cachet after beating Penn State on Friday night to give the Great Danes their first-ever win over a Big Ten team. Then they proceeded to play like one in the first half, at least from the standpoint of their physical style.

In the end though, UC's quickness and depth was too much for Albany, which committed 22 turnovers.

"In the second half, we really wanted to come out and play harder," said Evans, who led UC in scoring for the second straight game, this time with 19 points, 15 in the second half. "We just tried to come out and turn up our defense. Coach said once you turn it up on defense, your offense will come."

Part of UC's first-half problems had to do with the fact that shot-blockers Kyle Washington and Gary Clark spent most of the half on the bench with two fouls apiece. In their absence, the Great Danes found paths to the basket that normally would not have been available.

Washington, who played only four minutes in the first half, came back to finish with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Freshman guard Jarron Cumberland had his first double-figure scoring game as a Bearcat with 11 points.

Caupain, the American Athletic Conference's pre-season co-Player of the Year, scored only eight points, but those eight points kept the Bearcats in the game in the first half. The senior point guard was content to let his teammates do the scoring in the second, but he still filled the stat sheet with impressive numbers. He did not turn the ball over in 32 minutes, recorded five assists and came up with four steals.

Sophomore point guard Justin Jenifer also made a significant contribution with five assists and three steals. His energy was contagious while the Bearcats were on their second-half run, eliciting an ovation from the UC fans when he dove on the floor for a loose ball.

"He was like Speedy Gonzalez out there," Cronin said, "but that's who he's got to be."

Although Cronin maintained that UC's defense was outstanding in the first half as well as the second - UC forced 11 turnovers and held Albany to 39.1 percent shooting in the first - the Bearcats seemed to increase the intensity in the second and outscored the Great Danes, 45-24.

"We were creating our own offense," Caupain said. "Cincinnati's about defense, which makes it more fun because it makes Coach happy and when Coach is happy it's a great day."

It's also a great day when a team gets ranked after being out of the Top 25 for awhile, but Caupain predictably downplayed that.

"The rankings don't really mean nothing to us," he said. "We try to get past that. We are thankful that we are ranked, but we try not to look at that little number. Cincinnati basketball is Cincinnati basketball, ranked or not. We've just got to come ready to play."

WILLIAMS SIGNS - UC announced the signing of 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard Keith Williams to a national letter-of-intent on Monday. He's the third player to sign with UC during the fall signing period, joining 6-9 forward-center Eliel Nsoseme and 6-foot-5 guard Trevor Moore.

Williams, from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., averaged 16 points last year and surpassed the 1,000-point mark as a junior. He averaged 15.0 points and 4.3 rebounds last summer playing for New Heights, an AAU team on the Under Armour Association's 17U Circuit while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range.

"Keith's a three-position guy," Cronin said. "He can play the one, two and three. He's a great recruit for us. New York City has been so good for us. When you get kids from programs that win, like Bishop Loughlin, that's a big factor. I really believe that."

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.