Bearcats Dominate Stony Brook Seawolves

The Bearcats never gave Stony Brook much of a chance. Cincinnati took a 5-4 lead off a Caupain three and led the rest of the way. Cincinnati ended up with 78 points and held the Seawolves to 52.

This was a team effort in every aspect. There was even a Zach Tobler sighting tonight. He had played in nine games in his career and never scored. He ended that streak tonight by hitting 1/2 free throws. Great night for the walk on. Here are some other positive things from a positive night:

• Cincinnati scored a season high of 78 points. Four Bearcats scored in the double-digits (Thomas 14, Clark 13, Johnson 12, and Caupain 10). This is the balanced attack that this team will need. No longer can everything go through one player (e.g. SK). This team needs to be just that - a team.
• I don't even know where to start with Gary Clark. After the disappointment of Jermaine Lawrence last year, I was skeptical about Clark. This kid is going to be something special. He had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. He has a calming and simplistic game, that is very effective. He's shooting 57.6% so far this season, and is averaging exactly 8.2 rebounds and points.
• If you were wondering, Troy Caupain showed up today. He had 6 assists, 10 points, and only 1 turnover. Troy needs to start showing up everynight. Cobb, Moore, and others are not needed as much on a nightly basis, but Caupain is the only true point guard on this squad, at least until Justin Jenifer gets here.
• The defensive energy was there tonight. Cincinnati scored 21 points off turnovers, was -6 in the turnover column, and had 41 deflections. Seven games into the season and it is pretty safe to say that this will be a more typical Bearcat team than we expected in preseason. It seems, like some teams of the past, that this team will live and die by their energy level on the defensive end. Let's hope Mick and co. can keep that energy up.
• There was one somewhat of a dark spot in tonight's performance. Octavius Ellis had a bonehead foul on a fast break. It wasn't anything particularly malicious, just a dumb, hard foul, where he clearly wasn't going for the ball. Cronin said that Ellis apologized to the Stony Brook locker room after the game, so hopefully Ellis has learned something.