TicketsTEMPE, Ariz. — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team fell, 82-68, to Arizona State on Saturday night inside Desert Financial Arena, as the Sun Devils used a late second-half surge and hot perimeter shooting to pull away.
Arizona State took control down the stretch, closing the game on a decisive 16-5 run over the final five minutes while Cincinnati went 1-of-10 from the field to finish the contest. The Sun Devils extended a 70-63 lead into a double-digit margin and were never threatened late.
Senior Baba Miller led the Bearcats with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while also adding nine rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Moustapha Thiam added 15 points and six boards. Arizona State was powered by Maurice Odum’s 33-point performance, as the Sun Devils knocked down 13 3-pointers and shot 46.4% from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati finished the night shooting 45.0% percent from the field but struggled from long range, connecting on just 4-of-17 attempts. The Bearcats held advantages in points in the paint (34-26) and rebounds (38-31), but Arizona State’s efficiency from three and ability to capitalize on turnovers proved decisive.
Cincinnati briefly reclaimed the lead early in the second half when a Jizzle James jumper capped a 6-0 run to make it 41-40. Arizona State responded immediately, however, with a 9-3 spurt fueled by seven points from Santiago Trouet to regain control at 49-44 with 14:13 remaining.
Miller halted the momentum with a jumper, but Arizona State continued to build separation. Andrija Grbovic buried a three-pointer to cap a 10-2 run, pushing the Sun Devils’ lead to 59-48 at the 11:35 mark. From there, Arizona State steadily maintained its advantage before pulling away late.
The first half featured 11 lead changes as Cincinnati opened strong, grabbing a 7-5 edge before Arizona State answered with a 7-0 run capped by an Anthony “Pig” Johnson three. The Bearcats responded with an 8-0 run of their own, highlighted by triples from Kerr Kriisa and Keyshuan Tillery and a Thiam alley-oop dunk to take a 22-20 lead.
Arizona State closed the half with momentum behind Odum, who scored 17 of his 33 points before the break. The Sun Devils took a 37-33 lead into halftime despite Cincinnati shooting a season-best 58.3 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Turnovers proved costly, as the Bearcats committed 10 first-half miscues that led to a 13-4 Arizona State edge in points off turnovers.
The Bearcats return home to host Baylor at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.