After finishing in third place at the Paradise Jam, the Cincinnati Bearcats invited the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to Fifth Third Arena a few days after Thanksgiving. The positive for the 4-2 Bearcats was they got Jarron Cumberland back after he sat out the final game of the Paradise Jam with an injury.
In the first half UNLV controlled the tempo while shooting better from the field than Cincinnati. UNLV shot 36.7% from the field, but made six threes which gave them a 33-24 lead at the half. Cincinnati has been cold from three going 3-of-11 led by freshman Mika Adams-Woods who has hit 2-of-3 from three. Cumberland has made a few plays for others leading the team with three assists to go with his five points. Adams-Woods leads the team in scoring with eight at the half. UNLV won the battle on the glass 22 to 18, coupled with Cincinnati shooting 32.1% from the field has the home team down 9 at the half.
In the second half UNLV pushed the lead up to 12 points, but a nice series led by Keith Williams with a steal and a layup got the Bearcats within six points. Williams knocked down a three and secured a tip dunk to give Cincinnati a 40-39 lead. After UNLV regained the lead Jarron Cumberland made a nice spin move in the lane to knock down a floater to give them an one point lead 44-43 with 9:39 left in the second half. After that sequence the Cincinnati defense kept UNLV at bay Jar. Cumberland hit a huge three. Cincinnati pushed the lead up to 10 points with 1:21 left in the second half. Then Elijah Mitrou-Long made two free throws after a questionable foul call on Mika Adams-Woods. Jar. Cumberland made two free throws to push the lead back to 10 and then Amauri Hardy knocked down a three, Adams-Woods missed a front end of a 1 and 1, followed by a three by Mitrou-Long and finished with Jar. Cumberland missing a front end of a 1 and 1 giving Cincinnati a 58-54 lead. Jar. Cumberland hit two free throws to push the lead to 6, but Mitrou-Long hit three free throws and made a three before the buzzer to force overtime.
In the overtime period Cincinnati won 12-5 to secure the win 72-65 and move to 5-2.
Jar. Cumberland led the way with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal. Williams had 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Chris Vogt finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Adams-Woods finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Tre Scott led the team with nine rebounds.
The energy in the second half saved the game for the Bearcats, they will need to play a full 40 minutes to beat Vermont on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena
