Bearcats Cruise in LA, Top Bruins 77-63

It may not entirely make up for last year’s loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the No. 25 Cincinnati Bearcats rolled to an easy bit of revenge with a 77-63 win over the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.

Led by Kyle Washington’s 19 points, the Bearcats (9-2) won for the second-straight game and avenged a 79-67 loss to the Bruins last March. Jacob Evans added 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 4-for-6 effort from long range. Gary Clark contributed a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks) and Jarron Cumberland reached double figures as well, netting 10.

UCLA’s normally solid offense was held in check by one of the nation’s best defensive teams, as the Bruins (7-3) shot 41.1 percent from the field and turned the ball over twice as many times (18) as UC (nine). The Bearcats countered by scoring 23 points off of takeaways and producing a healthy 46.6 percent success rate on field goal tries.

Cincinnati will next be in action on Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.