TicketsMANHATTAN, Kan. — Led by a strong shooting night from beyond the arc, the Cincinnati men’s basketball team rolled to a 91-62 victory over Kansas State Wednesday night inside Bramlage Coliseum. UC knocked down a season-high 16 3-pointers, shooting 57.1% (16-of-28) from deep.
The Bearcats seized control early and never looked back, as Kansas State did not hold a lead at any point. Cincinnati used a 10-0 run with 10:37 remaining in the first half, capped by a Jalen Celestine pull-up jumper to balloon the lead to 32-11. UC carried that momentum into the locker room with a 53-31 advantage, setting its season high for points in a half.
Cincinnati continued to pour it on after the break. A 12-2 burst pushed the margin to 65-37 early in the second half, and a later 9-3 stretch extended the lead to 88-57 at the 4:05 mark as the Bearcats cruised to the finish.
Five Bearcats reached double figures, led by junior Jizzle James, who scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He also tied a career high from 3-point range, knocking down 6-of-8 attempts.
Senior Baba Miller displayed his all-around impact with his 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists and tying a career-high with four blocks. Celestine hit 4-of-6 from beyond the arc on his way to a season-high 18 points and three steals. Junior Sencire Harris matched a season-high 12 points, and graduate Day Day Thomas directed the offense with a season-best seven assists to go with 10 points.
Kansas State was paced by PJ Haggerty’s 24 points.
Cincinnati shot 50% (31-of-62) from the field and 57% (16-of-28) from 3-point range, while Kansas State finished at 40% (25-of-62) overall and 24% (6-of-25) from deep.
To open the matchup, Cincinnati hit four of its first six attempts from 3-point range — two from Celestine, one from Miller and a second-chance triple from James off a feed from Thomas — to build a 17-7 lead at the 14:24 mark of the first half. The Bearcats stretched the margin to 32-11 midway through the period when a Celestine pull-up jumper capped a 10-0 spurt.
Cincinnati, which tied its season high for points in a half with 52 in the second half against UCF on Sunday, kept its foot on the gas. The Bearcats shot 57.1% (20-of-35) from the field and 64.3% (9-of-14) from beyond the arc to take a 53-31 lead into the break. Celestine led three Bearcats in double figures with 16 points, while Miller added 11 points and five rebounds, and James chipped in 10. Haggerty paced Kansas State with 11 first-half points.
UC opened the second half with a 12-2 run, highlighted by a behind-the-back pass from Thomas that set up a two-handed dunk by Halvine Dzellat to extend the lead to 65-37.
After the teams traded baskets, a James 3-pointer sparked a 9-3 Cincinnati run that pushed the advantage to 88-57 with 4:04 remaining. A triple from Jordi Rodriguez later punctuated Cincinnati’s impressive shooting performance, as the Bearcats secured a game-high 32-point lead in the 91-62 victory.
The Bearcats return home to square off with Utah at noon Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.