Tickets2018-19 Cincinnati Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
rv/rv Cincinnati (11-2) 77, South Carolina State (2-13) 56
December 22, 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: After a slow start (3-of-14), the Bearcats offense got on track with an 8-of-12 shooting effort late in the half to break open a game that saw the visitors trailing by just six points at the 10 minute mark. From there, Cincinnati used a few smaller runs, including closing the game on a 7-0 stretch to take the victory, 77-56, to move to 11-2 on the year.
Leaders: Nysier Brooks scored a career-high 17 points to lead the way for a Bearcats team that sent 11 players to the floor during the game with all 11 scoring at least one point in the contest. Jarron Cumberland added 12 points, Justin Jenifer scored 11 and Trevor Moore chipped in 10 as the Bearcats had four players in double-digit scoring. The visiting Bulldogs were paced by Janai Raynor Powell's 15 points while Damani Applewhite added 11 points for South Carolina State.
// TEAM NOTES
- Cincinnati moved to 11-2 overall on the season while South Carolina State fell to 2-13 overall.
- IN THE SERIES: Cincinnati improved to 2-0 in the series and 1-0 in games played at Fifth Third Arena after winning the first meeting, 108-84, at the Cincinnati Gardens Dec. 31, 1988. The Bearcats have won both games by an average of 22.5 points with today's 21-point margin of victory.
- AGAINST THE MEAC: The Bulldogs are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which the Bearcats now hold an all-time record of 24-0 after today's victory. Under Mick Cronin, Cincinnati is 16-0 against MEAC schools.
- The Bearcats are now 41-2 at home since the start of the 2016-17 season. They entered the game today leading the nation in home wins (40) and held the highest winning percentage (.952) since the start of the 2016-17 season.
- HALFTIME REPORT: After a slow start by both teams, the Bearcats used a 15-1 run late in the first half to open a big lead, building the advantage to as many as 23 points before holding a 19-point advantage at the break (35-16). Cincinnati sent out 11 different players in the opening stanza with 10 scoring at least one point with Mamoudou Diarra leading all scorers with seven points. Logan Johnson had a career-high seven rebounds in the first half, surpassing the four he had against North Carolina Central earlier this year with three of those boards coming on the offensive glass, equaling the team total of South Carolina State in the half. The Bulldogs were led by Damani Applewhite as he scored five points as SCSU was limited to 20.0 percent shooting (5-of-25) while the Bearcats shot 40.0 percent (12-of-30).
- The 16 points allowed in the first half to the Bulldogs was the fewest allowed in any half this year by the Bearcats, surpassing the 19 scored by NC Central in the second game of the season. It also marked the sixth time this year UC has limited a foe to 25 or fewer points in the first half and stands as the 17th time UC has held a foe to 25 or fewer points in the opening half since the start of the 2017-18 season.
- Cincinnati, which entered the game averaging 28.5 points in the lane, scored nearly half of its points in the paint, finishing with 34 on the day. The 34 points is the third-highest total tallied this year behind the 46 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 36 against Western Michigan.
- The Bearcats won the rebounding battle, 46-28. The 46 boards mark the most UC has tallied this year, surpassing the 42 tallied against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In the game, all 11 players recorded at least one rebound with Nyier Brooks leading the way with eight boards on the day.
// PLAYER NOTES
- Nysier Brooks scored a career-high 17 points on the night, surpassing the 15 he scored against Western Michigan earlier this year. Brooks nearly recorded a double-double on the day as he added a team-high eight boards, leaving him two rebounds shy of what would have been his third career double-double. Overall, Brooks was 5-of-8 from the floor, including 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
- All 11 Bearcats that entered the game scored at least one point, including four in double figures and one (Nysier Brooks) with a career-high. Rashawn Fredericks nearly added a career-high scoring tally as he was one shy with his eight points.
- Fredericks did, however, record a career-high in steals as the junior transfer recorded three in the first seven minutes of the game, surpassing the two total steals (one each against North Carolina Central and Northern Kentucky) he had entering.
- Logan Johnson recorded a career-high seven rebounds, the second-highest total on the team, including three offensive boards. Johnson, who finished with two points, added two assists as well.