Its important to let off steam, especially after suffering a disappointment. The No. 24 Cincinnati Bearcats suffered a setback on Saturday that would certainly be deemed disappointing. Luckily, they didn’t have to just punch a pillow or squeeze a stress ball, as they had another chance to hit the floor and earn a victory on Sunday. Penn State was on the wrong side of that frustration release, as UC rolled to a 71-50 victory in the consolation round of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
Kyle Washington must have taken Saturday’s loss the hardest because he was the most aggressive player on the floor on Sunday. The 6’9” forward scored 16 points on 7-of-16 from the floor and ripped down 17 rebounds, helping the Bearcats to a 40-26 edge on the glass. Washington has posted a double-double in three of the first four games of the season. That whole transferring thing seems to be working out for him, not to mention UC.
The Bearcats (3-1) stepped on the gas early and never let up, shooting 59.3 percent from the floor in the first half while locking the Lions up and throwing away the key, allowing only six field goals while forcing 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Gary Clark helped a great deal on the defensive front, with a team-high three steals along with two blocks to go with nine points and six rebounds.
On the wings, Jacob Evans had a very pedestrian 14 points (by his standards), but it wasn’t because of an inefficient shooting effort, as he made 5-of-7 field goal attempts. Troy Caupain matched his season-high with 12 points but again needed too many shots to make it there (5-of-13). Even though the senior guard has 24 points combined in his last two games, he has only made 9-of-28 field goal tries in that time.
Of course with the Bearcats shooting out to a big lead and never relenting there were plenty of minutes to go around to reserves. Justin Jenifer played 23 minutes off the bench and Tre Scott set career-highs in points (10) and minutes (18).
Shep Garner scored a game-high 20 points for PSU (2-3) which also got 10 points from Tony Carr and 11 rebounds from Mike Watkins.
With wins in three of their first four games, the Bearcats will settle in for Thanksgiving week at home, a week that features matchups against Samford and Lipscomb as appetizers before they visit No. 20 Iowa State on Dec. 1.