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HOUSTON (AP) — No. 12 Houston held off No. 25 Cincinnati 65-58 on Sunday.
Jarron Cumberland scored 27 points on 9-of-25 shooting, and Cane Broome added 10 points for Cincinnati (20-4, 9-2), which had its eight-game winning streak snapped. The Bearcats shot 33 percent from the field, including 27 percent in the second half.
"We came out on the short end of the stick," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "We didn't finish getting the ball in the basket around the rim. They had nine blocked shots. That was the difference in the game."
After taking a 58-57 lead on Cumberland's 3-pointer with 6:11 left, Cincinnati missed its last 11 field goals.
"We missed two front ends of a 1-and-1; we couldn't finish around the rim," Cronin said. "Give their defense credit, we didn't handle it the way we needed to handle it."
Houston led 34-33 at the half behind Davis' 11 points.
// BIG PICTURE
Cincinnati: Outside of Cumberland, Cincinnati struggled to find scoring. The rest of the Bearcats combined for 31 points on 13-of-41 shooting. Cincinnati forced Houston into 13 turnovers, which led to nine points. Cincinnati committed four turnovers.
Houston: The Cougars were able to use their size to change shots and prevent the Bearcats from getting any easy looks. Brison Gresham had four blocks and the Cougars finished with nine as a team. Houston held a 42-36 advantage in rebounding. Houston held a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.
// POLL IMPLICATIONS
Houston could rise into the top 10 after going 2-0 this week. Cincinnati will likely drop out of the rankings.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati: Hosts Wichita State on Feb. 17.
Houston: Travels to UConn on Thursday.