Postgame Notes: Cincinnati 105, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 49

2018-19 Cincinnati Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Cincinnati (6-1) 105, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-5) 49
November 27, 2018 • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati)

Starting Five: G Keith Williams • G Justin Jenifer • F Tre Scott • C Nysier Brooks • G Jarron Cumberland

The Turning Point: Arkansas-Pine Bluff hit a three pointer on their first possession of the game before Cincinnati responded by going on a 13-0 run over the next 3:18 to open a big lead it would not relinquish. The Bearcats nearly forced as many turnovers (19) as points allowed (22) in the first half and built a 37-point lead before closing out the game forcing 31 turnovers in total and winning by 56 points, the second-largest margin recorded in the Mick Cronin Era.

Leaders: Six Bearcats scored in double figures on the night with Justin Jenifer leading the charge as he scored a game-high 13 points to pace the hosts to victory. Joining him in double-digits for UC were Keith Williams (12), Trevon Scott (11), Cane Broome (11), Jarron Cumberland (10) and Rashawn Fredericks (10). Added to that, 13 players saw minutes on the night with all but one scoring. A trio of players scored a team-high eight points for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, including Terrance Banyard, Cameron Posey and Trevor Banks.

// TEAM NOTES

• Cincinnati improved to 6-1 overall with its sixth victory in a row while Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell to 2-5 overall on the year.
• IN THE SERIES: The Bearcats are now 5-0 all-time against the Golden Lions after winning in back-to-back seasons after last year's 77-49 victory. It marks the second year in a row the Bearcats limited the visitors to just 49 points.
• AGAINST THE SWAC: The Bearcats are now 17-1 all-time against members of the SWAC and 12-0 against the league under Mick Cronin. UAPB (5-0) and Texas Southern (4-0) are the two teams UC has faced the most from the conference.
• The Bearcats are now 37-2 at home since the start of the 2016-17 season and are 42-3 overall in the month of November since the start of the 2012-13 season.
• HALFTIME REPORT: Cincinnati's defense forced Arkansas-Pine Bluff into 19 turnovers in the first half while limiting the Golden Lions to 30-percent shooting and 22 points while connecting on 63.2-percent of its own shots to take a 59-22 lead at the break. The Bearcats, who scored their most points in the first since pouring in 60 points against Savannah State last year, had a trio of players score 10 points each, including Jarron Cumberland, Keith Williams and Trevon Scott, while 10 of the 12 Bearcats that saw action in the opening 20 minutes of play score at least three points. UAPB was led by Trevor Banks, who scored a team-high eight points for the Golden Lions.
• The Bearcats scored 105 points overall and 59 points in the first half, both of which rank highly in the Mick Cronin Era. Overall, the 105 points are the fourth-most scored by UC in his tenure while the 59 points in the opening half ties for the fourth-most in a half with three other games, the most recent being the second half against Texas Southern on December 13, 2016. Tonight's 56-point win also is the second-largest under Cronin, trailing only the 62-point defeat of Robert Morris (11/15/15), a 106-44 win.
• UC shot 64.1-percent from the floor tonight, connecting on 41-of-64 shooting in the game. That shooting percentage is the third-best in the Cronin Era behind a pair of games in which the Bearcats shot 64.7-percent: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (12/17/16) and vs. UCF (2/25/15).
• Cincinnati forced 31 turnovers tonight, the third-most under Cronin and just one off the record of 32 set twice: vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (12/6/12) and vs. North Carolina State (12/23/06). Those 31 turnovers resulted in 45 UC points, just four shy of the visitors' 49 points scored tonight.
• The UC defense limited the UAPB offense to just 22 points in the first half, marking the second time in three games the Bearcats have held a foe under 25 points after limiting George Mason to 23 in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic. So far this year, UC has limited foes to under 30 points in four of seven games with the 19 allowed to North Carolina Central the fewest allowed this year.
• The Bearcats recorded season highs in three of the four 'hustle' categories that include assists, turnovers, blocks and steals. UC finished with 19 assists for the third time this year (vs. NC Central and vs. Western Michigan); 31 forced turnovers (high was 17 by WMU); and 13 steals (previous high was 10 vs. WMU).

// PLAYER NOTES

• Cincinnati had six different players score at least 10 points in the game for the first time this season with Justin Jenifer (13), Keith Williams (12), Cane Broome (11), Trevon Scott (11), Rashawn Fredericks (10) and Jarron Cumberland (10) combing to accomplish the feat. The last time this happened came November 10, 2017, against Savannah State with the double-digit scoring totals coming from Jacob Evans (19), Broome (17), Jenifer (15), Gary Clark (13), Cumberland (10) and Williams (10).
• Jenifer's 13 points is a season high, surpassing the 10 he scored against North Carolina Central (11/13/18) and just three off his career best of 16 against Coppin State (11/16/17). Jenifer also was 3-of-5 from three, connecting on a season-best three shots.
• A pair of rookies turned in strong showings on the night with Logan Johnson netting eight points and Fredericks with 10. Johnson canned his first career three-pointer and added a career-best four steals (had one in a pair of games earlier this year) while tying his career-high in points scored. Fredericks, who was one point off his career high (11 vs. George Mason two games prior), connected a on career-high-tying two three-pointers while recording career bests with one assist (for the third time this year), one steal (the first of his career) and two blocks (surpassing his one block against Milwaukee).
• Sam Martin logged several career highs on the night as he scored five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from the free throw line in 5 minutes of action. Martin drove the lane at the 1:57 mark in the second half and scored on a layup to record the first field goal of his career after all his previous points came from the charity stripe. His previous career high was two points against Richmond (11/21/17), just over one year ago today. He also added drew a pair of charges on the defensive end.
• Late in the game, Mamoudou Diarra drained a three-point attempt, making him 2-of-3 for his career. He hit his first last year against Coppin State (11/16/17). Tonight, he was one of seven different players to connect from beyond the arc tonight as the Bearcats went 11-of-19 overall.