The 5-2 Cincinnati Bearcats took on the 6-3 Vermont Catamounts for the first time ever Tuesday night in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats came off a 72-65 overtime win against UNLV and the Catamounts came off a 65-52 loss against Yale. The Bearcats started the same starting five they have had most of the season, Chris McNeal, Keith Williams, Trevon Scott, Chris Vogt, and Jarron Cumberland. Recently, Vogt has really stepped up for Bearcats averaging 13.1 points,7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks a game. Jarron Cumberland is still leading the team in points per game with 15.6. The Bearcats were looking to get a solid win before they take on Xavier Saturday in one of the biggest games of the year, the Crosstown Shootout.
The first points of the game came from what Jarron Cumberland does best, a 3-pointer. Cincinnati may have scored first, but Vermont took the lead early in the game. Once Vogt got going under the basket, the Bearcats kept pace with Vermont. Brannen make sure that the players were all getting a break and subbed quite frequently. Neither team was able to really get into a rhythm for long, so scoring was in increments. Williams came out strong in the first half, driving to the basket and draining 3’s behind the arc. Scott was dominate rebounding on both sides of the court, with a total of six rebounds. With about five minutes left in the first half the Bearcats started to take control of the game. Unlike some of their previous games, the Bearcats were great from behind the line, going 9-of-10 in the first half. Jarron Cumberland, Scott, and Williams tied with eight points while Jaevin Cumberland led the way with nine. They were 5-of-8 from behind the arc and 13-of-27 from the field. The first half score was 40-27 in favor of the Bearcats.
The second half started out strong for the Bearcats, they went on a 14-1 run to start the half. Jaevin Cumberland exploded in the second half and was carrying the team in scoring. The Bearcats kept pressure on the Catamounts, which helped them keep their commanding lead. They also kept their sharp shooting up from behind the free throw line which was great to see after only shooting 64.3% the rest of the season. The offense really seemed to come together and play as a team. Yes, Jaevin played great and was second on the team in points, but the team did a nice job of passing the ball around and giving everyone a chance to score some points. Towards the end of the game Vermont started to come back a little, but the Bearcats kept pushing and didn’t let them pull off the comeback. They didn’t allow this game to go into overtime like their last three. The star players for the Bearcats all looked really good this game with Williams leading the way scoring 23, Scott scoring 13 and getting 12 rebounds, and Jaevin Cumberland with 21. The Bearcats went 12-of-19 from behind the arc and 24-of-53 from the field. The final score was 82-73 Bearcats, making them 6-2 on the season and their next game will be against Xavier in the Crosstown Shootout Saturday.
Note: Jarron Cumberland didn’t play most of the second half due to what seems to be a hip injury. He finished with eight points.
Keith Williams scored his career high against Vermont.
Trevor Moore missed the game to be back at home for a family matter. (Prayers to Trevor and his family)
