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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI - A season ago, forward Quadri Moore and guard Justin Jenifer were stationed so far down the bench that it was easy to forget about them. Moore averaged 2.2 points in 7.8 minutes per game, Jenifer 2.4 points in 8.6 minutes.
If the University of Cincinnati's 64-55 exhibition victory over Division II Bellarmine on Wednesday night before 5,979 fans at Fifth Third Arena is any indication - and it's way too soon to tell if it will be - both players could play a much larger role for the Bearcats in 2016-17.
The 6-foot-9 Moore came off the bench to score 13 points with eight rebounds in 25 minutes and the Jenifer scored 12 points with three assists, picking up the slack for some of the UC veterans who at times seemed uninterested.
"Justin Jenfier and Quadri Moore want to play so they've been extremely coachable the entire off season," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "They've allowed us to coach them and have worked really hard to get better and it shows. It doesn't surprise me at all because their attitude is right. I've got some other guys in the fat cat mode. That's why tonight was great for us. Somebody picked us to win the league, so we were too cool to play as hard as Bellarmine plays."
Senior guard Kevin Johnson led the Bearcats with 14 points, scoring seven in the final two minutes.
The Knights were picked as the pre-season No. 1 team in the country by Division II Bulletin and they showed why, staying close to UC for most of the night with their cutting, passing and 3-point shooting. They made 12 of 28 from 3-point range and out-rebounded the Bearcats, 32-26. UC shot 44.4 percent overall, but made only 6 of 24 from long range.
The 5-foot-10 Jenifer, who arrived at UC last year with a reputation as a scorer and a flashy passer, found that the college game is much different from what he was used to in high school and was slow to adjust. But with a year and another summer under his belt, he seems to have made great strides.
"Last year I was moving too fast," Jenifer said. "I need to slow my pace down. I've been used to it in high school where I just had to score all the time. Now I'm playing with bigs and I need to slow my game down a little bit and make the game come to me. When I started doing that and made sure I got in shape the game just switched around for me. Now the game is at a pace where I really want it now."
UC played without sophomore Jacob Evans, who was held out as a precaution while he recovers from a foot injury. "He's all right," Cronin said. "I'm just being cautious with him. He'll start doing more starting tomorrow."
Freshman guard Jarron Cumberland, from nearby Wilmington High School, scored nine points, all in the second half, even though he was just one-for-five from long range.
"He's a much better shooter than he showed tonight," Cronin said. "Jarron's a good player. He's gonna have a great career. He's not my concern. I'm disappointed in my veteran players tonight, aside from Kevin Johnson because that's another guy who wants to start this year and he's hungry."
Freshman Nysier Brooks, a 6-foot-11 center didn't play, Cronin said, because of Bellarmine's style of play. Forward Kyle Washington got into early foul trouble and scored two points with two rebounds in 14 minutes. Senior guard Troy Caupain scored five points with five rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes, and junior forward Gary Clark scored eight points with five rebounds and three turnovers, including three traveling calls, in 25 minutes.
The Bearcats started slowly, going one-for-eight from the field and missing their first five 3-point shots while committing three turnovers. They trailed, 13-8, midway through the first half. Sparked by Jenifer, they outscored Bellarmine, 17-3, over the next 6:30 to take a 25-16 lead.
But the Knights hung in there behind 20 points from Rusty Troutman, and trailed by only four with 2:15 to play.
"Bellarmine did a great job," Johnson said. "They out-toughed us today. I could definitely say they outplayed us. It's a learning experience. Today was a great lesson on what we need to work on as a unit."
Which is exactly what Cronin hoped would happen because the Bearcats haven't been able to practice a lot of five-on-five recently due to injuries. They used only eight players against Bellarmine.
"That's the best practice that we've had in a long time," he said.
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.