Postgame Notes: Houston 85, Cincinnati 69

2018-19 Cincinnati Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
12/12 Houston (29-2, 16-2 AAC) 85, 20/19 Cincinnati (25-6, 14-4 AAC) 69
March 10, 2019 • Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati)

Starting Five: G Justin Jenifer • F Trevon Scott • G Cane Broome • C Nysier Brooks • G Jarron Cumberland

The Turning Point: With Cincinnati leading, 47-41, with 13:33 remaining in the game, the Cougars went on an 11-0 run to not only take a 52-47 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Houston grew its lead to as much as 18 in the final minutes of the game to close out the contest and claim the AAC title outright.

Leaders: Jarron Cumberland led the Bearcats in scoring with 20 points, his 13th 20-point game of the year, while Nysier Brooks added 16, missing his career high by one point, while adding six rebounds as well. Corey Davis, Jr., lead all scorers with 31 points while Nate Hinton (16), Armoni Brooks (14) and Dejon Jarreau (13) all scored in double figures as well.

// TEAM NOTES

• Cincinnati fell to 25-6 overall and 14-4 in the American Athletic Conference while Houston moved to 29-2 and 16-2 in the league.
• IN THE SERIES: Today's loss marked the first time Cincinnati has lost to Houston at home in the all-time series, slipping to 16-1 all-time at home while sliding to 31-5 all-time overall.
• Today marked the final home games for two seniors, Justin Jenifer and Cane Broome. Broome transferred from Sacred Heart, sat out the 2016-17 campaign due to NCAA rules and has played the last two seasons. Cincinnati has won 86 games   games togetherDuring the duo's stay the Bearcats have won  and  Jenifer has played in 103 victories, which ties for the third most in school history, while Broome was part of 86 victories (ahead of today) in his three years in Cincinnati after transferring in from Sacred Heart, the most of any UC player in any three-year period in program history.
• The Bearcats are now 49-3 at home since the start of the 2016-17 season. Cincinnati is second nationally only to Texas Tech for the top spot in the nation for home wins in that span as the Red Raiders have 50. UC, who entered the day with the nation's highest home winning percentage (.961) since the start of the 2016-17 season, is now 86-16 in that span, placing them third nationally behind only Gonzaga (98) and Villanova (90).
• Cincinnati holds an overall record of 49-5 in home AAC games since joining the league when it began in the 2013-14 season. In the previous five seasons, UC posted records of 8-1, 8-1, 8-1, 9-0 and 8-1 before finishing this year at 8-1. Cincinnati also holds a 34-3 record in home AAC games since the start of the 2015-16 season with losses coming to Temple (77-70, 12/29/15, at Fifth Third Arena), Wichita State (76-72, 2/18/18, at BB&T Arena) and Houston.
• Today's loss snapped Cincinnati's consecutive home AAC winning streak inside Fifth Third Arena at 25 in a row. The Bearcats had won 17 straight before the renovation of Fifth Third Arena and were 8-0 in the return to campus after playing at BB&T Arena last year. 
• With the loss today, Cincinnati will finish second in the American Athletic Conference with Houston winning the crown outright. The Bearcats, who had locked up the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament ahead of today's game, will play the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game in Friday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be played at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., and will be aired live on ESPNU. The full slate of games will be announced later Sunday following the conclusion of all regular season games.
• HALFTIME REPORT: Two late free throws by Corey Davis, Jr., gave Houston a 37-35 lead at halftime as the two teams played a very close opening 20 minutes that saw the game stay within eight points throughout. Jarron Cumberland led the way for the Bearcats with 12 points while Nysier Brooks added 10 and a team-best five rebounds. The Cougars were led by Davis, Jr., who scored 14 points in the opening half. Houston committed two more turnovers than Cincinnati (7-5) with the Bearcats scoring more points off those miscues, holding an 11-9 advantage. 
• Cincinnati allowed 80+ points for just the third time in three years and the first time inside Fifth Third Arena since December 22, 2016. That day, the Bearcats rallied to defeat visiting Marshall, 93-91, in overtime.
• Cincinnati was out-rebounded for just the ninth time in 31 games this year as Houston won the battle on the glass, 42-28.
• With 4:30 remaining in the game, the Cougars took a 17-point lead, the largest deficit the Bearcats had faced all year. The previous high was a 16-point deficit in the season opener with Ohio State.
• Corey Davis, Jr., scored 31 points for Houston, marking the first time in three seasons that an opposing player has scored 30 or more on the Bearcats. The last time it happened was January 26, 2017, when Trevon Bluiett scored 40 for Xavier.
• Today's attendance was 12,701, bringing the season total to 202,610 in 18 regular-season games, an average of 11,256 fans. It marks the highest season attendance average at Fifth Third Arena since averaging 12,237 for the 2003-04 campaign. 

// PLAYER NOTES

• Nysier Brooks had a big game in the middle for the Bearcats as he finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Brooks, who was one of his career-high point total, added six rebounds, including a team-leading four offensive boards, while chipping in a pair of blocks, one assist and the team's lone steal. Brooks, who entered the season with just one double-digit scoring game to his credit, posted 10 or more points in contest for the 11th time this season.
• Two seniors played their final game inside Fifth Third Arena Sunday with Cane Broome scoring seven points and Justin Jenifer adding two. Broome led the team with five assists in the game while Jenifer grabbed three boards and handed out two assists.
• Jarron Cumberland finished with 20 points, marking the 15th time he has scored 20 or more in a game this year. Cumberland has the second-most 20-point games in a season under Mick Cronin with only Sean Kilpatrick scoring more as he did it 19 times in the 2013-14 season. With 19, 20-point games to his credit, Cumberland is one shy of becoming just the third player in the Cronin era to record 20 or more in a career, a list that includes Kilpatrick (2011-14) with 37 and Deonta Vaughn (2007-10) with 27.
• ON THE LIST: With 20 more points today, Cumberland brought his career scoring total to 1,275 points, moving him up one spot to 28th on the all-time list after surpassing Jim Ard (1968-70), who finished his career with 1,256 points. Cumberland is now four points behind Kenyon Martin (1997-00) for No. 27 (1,279 points) and six behind Dion Dixon (2008-12) for No. 26 (1,281 points).
• GOING DEEP: Cumberland drained three treys in the game to bring his season total to 72, tying him for the eighth-most in a single season under Mick Cronin with Deonta Vaughn (2009-10).