Postgame Notes: Cincinnati vs. Tulsa

Cincinnati Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
11/11 Cincinnati (25-4, 14-2) 82, Tulsa (17-11, 10-6) 74
February 18, 2018 • BB&T Arena (Highland Heights, Ky.)

Today's Attendance: 8,911

Starting Five: G Justin Jenifer • F Jacob Evans III • F Gary Clark • F Kyle Washington • G Jarron Cumberland

The Turning Point: After trailing at the intermission, the Bearcats opened the second half on a 17-2 run to take a lead that they would not surrender as they held the visitors scoreless for nearly three minutes in that run. Tulsa pulled within six at 72-72 with 4:41 left, but UC closed things out with a pair of late buckets to hang on for the eight-point win.

Leaders: Both Jarron Cumberland and Gary Clark scored 17 points each while Jacob Evans III and Cane Broome each added 15 points in the win. Junior Etou was the top scorer for Tulsa as he tallied 21 points while Corey Henderson, Jr., added 11 in the loss for the Golden Hurricane.

// TEAM NOTES

• With the win, the Bearcats improved to 25-4 overall while moving to 14-2 in American Athletic Conference action while the loss dropped visiting Tulsa to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in league play.
• IN THE SERIES: With the win, the Bearcats improved to 26-12 all-time in the series with Tulsa and extended its current winning streak against the Golden Hurricane to four in a row. Cincinnati is 16-2 all-time when hosting the series and also leads, 9-8, when playing in Tulsa. UT leads, 2-1, in neutral site games.
• HALFTIME REPORT: Neither team could seemingly miss from deep in the opening half as each finished 9-of-14 from three and shot over 50 percent as well to see the visitors carry a 47-44 lead into the break. In fact, each team made just seven field goals from inside the arc during the first half. UC held a 44-38 lead with under four minutes remaining, but were held scoreless for the final 3:47 while Tulsa went on a 9-0 run to take the lead. Tulsa's 47 points marked the most the Bearcats have surrendered in the opening half of a game, surpassing the 43 Xavier scored in the opening half. Jarron Cumberland led all scorers as he dropped 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep, while Jacob Evans III (seven), Justin Jenifer (six) and Kyle Washington (six) all scored over five points. Tulsa was led by Junior Etou, who scored 13 points as eight different UT players scored in the opening half.
• Cincinnati recorded a season-high 26 assists on the day. That total is the fifth-most in a single game under Mick Cronin.
• The Bearcats connected on a season-high 15 three-point shots (15-of-22) to shoot 68.2 percent, the highest percentage for a Mick Cronin-led team. The previous best was 64.3 percent (9-of-14) against Temple on January 17, 2014. The 15 made three-pointers ranks as the fifth-most in program history as well while the shooting percentage from long range ranks as the fourth-best all-time in Bearcats history.
• Tulsa shot 45.8 percent in the game and scored 74 points, marking just the fifth time all season that the UC defense allowed 70 or more points in a game.
• UC closed the season with a 15-1 mark at NKU's BB&T Arena, UC's home site for the year while Fifth Third Arena undergoes an $87-million renovation. Almost 130,000 fans passed through the turnstiles in Highland Heights, Kentucky this season, an average of 8,081 fans per game. The Bearcats will return to Fifth Third Arena for the 2018-19 season with a 26-game arena winning streak dating back to the 2015-16 campaign. 

// PLAYER NOTES

• UC honored seniors Jackson Bart, Gary Clark and Kyle Washington in a pregame ceremony. 
• Clark made his program-leading 130th career start Sunday and has played in 132 consecutive games, third-best in school history.
• The win today was Clark's 100th in a UC jersey, moving him into a tie for fifth place all time with Keith Gregor (1993-96) and Bobby Brannen (1995-98)
• Clark was limited to eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. He played all 20 minutes of the second half, scoring 15 of his 17 points, picking up three steals, dishing out two assists and blocking a shot. 
• Washington finished with eight points and four rebounds. 
• Jarron Cumberland hit four three pointers and scored 17 points while dishing out a career-best eight assists. Cumberland's previous career best was five helpers, hit four times, most recently against UCLA on Dec. 16, 2017. The eight assists was a single-game high for a UC player this season, topping Justin Jenifer's seven helpers against Cleveland State on Dec. 21.
• Jenifer added five assists of his own Sunday, the fifth time this season he has dished out five or more.
• Jacob Evans III tied a season high with four three pointers and finished with 15 points and a career high seven assists. It was the seventh time this season he hit three or more triples and his eighth game with five or more assists.
• Trevon Scott came off the bench and led the team in rebounding for the second-straight game, pulling down a game-high seven. He also blocked a shot.