Bearcats Roll Over Brown in Season Opener

Jacob Evans scored 23 points and Kyle Washington had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Cincinnati Bearcats blasted the Brown Bears 84-55 in the season opener for both teams at Fifth Third Arena.

Evans, who had been dealing with an injury during the preseason, showed no signs of any wear or tear and picked up right where he left off last season. The sophomore swingman scored 26 points in UC’s first round loss to Saint Joseph’s in the NCAA Tournament and he showed that type of scoring effort was no fluke tonight. He made 9-of-12 shots from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc across 32 minutes.

As for Washington, the NC State transfer had himself an extremely impressive debut as a Bearcat. To go along with his double-double he also handed out five assists and blocked a pair of shots.

With Evans and Washington dominating, Troy Caupain and Gary Clark, the team’s two most recognizable contributors, were supporting cast members, but excellent ones at that. Caupain scored 10 points, grabbed seven boards, handed out six assists and collected two steals. Clark went 7-of-9 from the floor and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

The Bearcats shot 57.9 percent from the floor overall (33-of-57), although they did struggle from beyond the arc (6-of-22) and at the free-throw line (12-of-20). Thanks to Clark and Washington primarily, they also had a 43-23 edge on the boards and outscored Brown 18-5 on second chance points and 48-14 in the paint.

JR Hobbie was the leading scorer for the Bears with 12 points. Brown only made 31.6 percent of its shots from the field, but did sink 10 3-pointers.

UC will be in action again on Monday when it hosts Albany in another satellite game of the Naismith Tip-Off.