TicketsNASSAU, Bahamas — The Cincinnati men’s basketball team topped Victoria, 110-63, Tuesday afternoon at Baha Mar in Nassau. The exhibition matchup was part of the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League marked the first game on the sideline for Cincinnati head coach Jerrod Calhoun and on the floor for 13 new Bearcats.
Each Bearcat scored in the victory and seven scored in double figures, led by MJ Collins with 15 and Adlan Elamin with 14. Myles Colvin scored 12, Elijah Perryman and Trevian Carson poured in 11 each and Eric Mahaffey and Riley Allenspach scored 10 apiece. Elamin pulled down a team-high eight boards, Akai Fleming dished out a team-best eight assists and Colvin, Mahaffey and Jayden Hastings tallied four steals each.
“I thought we played the right way,” Calhoun said. “I thought we shared it well but didn’t make all the shots we would have wanted. For the most part, we were organized, but probably the best thing I saw was guys cheering for one another. These guys are starting to come together and bond, understand who they are and play to their strengths.”
After Victoria took an early 5-4 lead, the Bearcats forced eight turnovers in the first five minutes to go on a 13-0 spurt for a 17-5 advantage after a Riley Allenspach layup at the 14:36 mark. Cincinnati connected on four of its first eight attempts from deep and turned 20 first-half turnovers into 31 points for a 55-22 lead at the break.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Bearcats shot 50% from the field and limited the Vikes to 26.9% shooting. All 14 Bearcats saw the floor in the first half with Collins and Elamin scoring nine points each and Colvin and Mahaffey adding eight apiece. Cincinnati assisted on 16 of 21 made field goals.
It was more of the same in the second half as suffocating defense led to more transition buckets as the Bearcats stretch the lead up to a game-high 50 at 103-53 with less than four minutes left to play.
For the game, Cincinnati shot 51.8% (44-for-85) from the field, forced 32 turnovers and held a 45-31 advantage on the boards.
The Bearcats conclude their trip to the Bahamas when they take on Calgary at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.