TicketsCINCINNATI — In its final exhibition contest in preparation for the 2026-27 season, the Cincinnati men’s basketball team led from start to finish on its way to a 97-58 victory over Oakland Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati opens the regular season against American at 7 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Arena.
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MJ Collins Jr. led the Bearcats with 22 points on 8-of-11 from the field and 5-for-7 from deep, while Myles Colvin went for 15 points and six boards as the Bearcats shot 60.9% (39-for-64) from the field and 51.7% (15-for-29) from three. Chris Fields Jr. led Oakland with 22 points and nine boards.
Cincinnati held a 25-11 advantage in points off turnovers and a 46-22 lead in bench points.
The Bearcats controlled from the outset, scoring the first eight points of the contest on triples from Collins Jr. and Colvin, along with a jumper from Tylen Riley. The lead then swelled to 21 at 34-13 on a Tyler Tejada layup with 6:30 remaining before Cincinnati heading into the half with a 44-25 advantage as the Bearcats shot 54.5% from the field and 53.8% from deep over the opening 20 minutes.
Collins Jr. Led the Bearcats with 14 at the break, while Colvin chipped in with nine. Fields Jr. scored 13 for the Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland trimmed its deficit to 14 at 44-30 after scoring the first five points of the second half but Cincinnati scored eight of the next 10 to make it a 20-point game at 52-32 on an Eric Mahaffey dunk at the 15:25 mark. The Bearcats then used an 11-2 run over 3:54 midway through the second half to push the advantage to 70-42 on an Amani Lyles layup with just under eight minutes remaining before running away with the 39-point victory.