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Troy Caupain

Associated Press

Cobb scores 20, No. 23 Cincinnati beats Norfolk State 75-59

Associated PressDec 15, 2015, 10:35 PM EST
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CINCINNATI (AP) Farad Cobb matched his season high with 20 points, Gary Clark added 19 and No. 23 Cincinnati recovered from its loss to crosstown rival Xavier by beating Norfolk State 75-59 on Tuesday night.

The Bearcats (9-2) had dropped two of three, including a home-court loss to Butler and a 65-55 defeat at No. 10 Xavier on Saturday. They were sloppy in the first half before pulling away.

D’Shon Taylor had 14 points for Norfolk State (4-6), which trailed by only four points late in the first half.

Norfolk State’s Jeff Short came into the game averaging 18.7 points in the last six games, but had a tough time finding shots against one of the country’s toughest defenses. He missed all four of his shots in the first half and his first one in the second half before hitting a 3-pointer. He finished with five points on 1-of-10 shooting.

The Bearcats are holding opponents to 59 points per game, the 10th-fewest in the nation.

The Spartans rely on the 3-pointer – they came in shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc – but missed 12 of their first 14 attempts and finished 7 of 24.

Cincinnati opened with a 15-0 run, scoring on each of its first five possessions. The only flaw was Octavius Ellis missing a showy dunk attempt on a fast-break alley-oop play. The Spartans had a shot clock violation on their opening possession and missed their first seven shots.

Cincinnati missed four consecutive free throws and seven of nine shots in one stretch of the first half, allowing Norfolk State to cut the lead to 23-15.

Turnovers were a problem in Cincinnati’s loss at Xavier on Saturday, and the Bearcats lost the ball four times during a four-minute span late it the first half on Tuesday. The crowd booed when Charles Oliver’s fast-break layup cut it to 30-26 with 1:30 left in the half. The Bearcats led 34-26 at the break.

Clark had three baskets during a 9-2 run that opened the second half and built the lead to 16 points. The lead was 61-35 midway through the half.

TIP-INS

Norfolk State: The Spartans have made as many as 14 3-pointers – a school record – and as few as two in games this season.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are 19-0 all-time against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

UP NEXT

Norfolk State: The Spartans will play the fourth of eight straight road games at Evansville on Thursday.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats play at VCU on Saturday.

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Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay

No. 24 Cincinnati beats George Washington 61-56

AP Photo
Associated PressNov 28, 2015, 7:24 PM EST
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NEW YORK (AP) Troy Caupain scored 16 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 1:38 to play, and No. 24 Cincinnati beat George Washington 61-56 on Saturday in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic.

The fact the game came down to a three-point play was ironic as both teams took 22 3-point attempts and there were times it seemed a 3-point shooting broke out.

Caupain’s traditional three-point play gave the Bearcats (7-0) a 55-54 lead. After a missed 3 by the Colonials (6-1) Octavius Ellis, who chosen the tournament MVP, scored on a tip-in. Patricio Garino scored on a drive for George Washington with 29 seconds left.

The Colonials let the Bearcats pass the ball around and they finally fouled when Ellis touched the ball with 14 seconds to play. Ellis, a 56 percent free throw shooter, clinched his MVP award by making both for a 59-56 lead. Two free throws by Caupain with 6.1 seconds left capped the scoring.

Farad Cobb and Kevin Johnson both had 11 points for the Bearcats while Ellis had nine points and seven rebounds.

Garino had 15 points for George Washington, Tyler Cavanaugh had 13 and Joe McDonald 11.

The Colonials finished 11 of 22 from 3-point range, not bad for a team that came in shooting 27.9 percent (29 of 104) from there. The 50 percent doesn’t look so good when you consider the Colonials made five of their first six 3-point attempts and were 8 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half. They went 16:42 between 2-point field goals but led 30-27 at halftime.

The Bearcats were 7 of 22 from 3-point range but their advantage came at the free throw line where they were 10 of 12 compared to George Washington’s 3 of 4.

TIP-INS

George Washington: The Colonials beat Tennessee in the opening round and they were 3 of 15 on 3s. … George Washington was off to its best start since it was8-0 in 2005-06. … The Colonials finished 10 for 34 from 2-point range.

Cincinnati: The win gives the Bearcats a 13-1 all-time record against George Washington and this was their sixth straight. The last win came on Jan. 31, 1976. … Cincinnati is 7-0 for the fourth time in the last six seasons. … The Bearcats are 51-8 in and have won 24 of 25 in November under coach Mick Cronin. They have won 49 straight games when scoring over 60 points. The 60th point against the Colonials came with 6.1 seconds to play.

UP NEXT

George Washington hosts Seton Hall on Wednesday.

Cincinnati hosts Butler on Wednesday.

VIDEO: Shaq Thomas’ windmill highlights Cincinnati victory

By Raphielle JohnsonNov 15, 2015, 6:04 PM EST
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One team that may be a bit underrated this season are Mick Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats. With their head coach sidelined for a significant portion of last season for health reasons the Bearcats still managed to reach the NCAA tournament, falling to Kentucky in the round of 32, and many of the key contributors are back.

Sunday afternoon the Bearcats moved to 2-0 on the season with a decisive 106-44 win over Robert Morris, using the combination of a balanced offensive attack and some stifling defense to get the job done. Guard Farad Cobb led eight double-digit scorers with 15 points, and point guards Troy Caupain and Justin Jenifer were responsible for nine points and one turnover apiece.

Thirty-two of their 38 field goals were of the assisted variety, and the Bearcats scored 52 points in the paint while also converting 29 Robert Morris turnovers into 36 points.

Two of those 36 points came on an impressive Shaq Thomas windmill during the second half, which can be seen above. While SMU and UConn have received an ample amount of attention when it comes to projecting the American Athletic Conference race, Cincinnati will be heard from as well. They’ll face tougher opposition than Sunday (or Friday’s win over Western Carolina, for that matter), but the Bearcats have more than enough talent and experience to make a statement nationally this season.

Video credit: Cincinnati Bearcats