Cincinnati Decimates Memphis in AAC Opener

There was a basketball game held at BB&T Arena on Sunday. I’m just not sure the Memphis Tigers got the memo. That was good news for the No. 21 Cincinnati Bearcats, who flexed their collective strength to the rest of the American Athletic Conference by rolling to an 82-48 win over the Tigers in their league opener.

Four different players scored in double figures for UC (12-2 1-0 AAC), which won its fifth-straight game. Jarron Cumberland, who had struggled a bit in non-conference action, was the lead scorer, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had eight rebounds and four assists. Gary Clark contributed a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Jacob Evans and Trevor Moore each had 12 points.

With Clark taking the lead, the Bearcats had a 45-30 edge in rebounds, which was extremely useful since Memphis couldn’t find the net with many of its shots. The Tigers shot just 32.1 percent from the floor and were more than doubled up on points from three-point range (27-12). Kareem Brewton Jr. had 17 points to pace the Tigers (9-5, 0-1), who have lost three of their last five.

Cincinnati will be in action again on Thursday against the Temple Owls in Philadelphia. Until then, Happy New Year.