Field Level Media
Feb 6, 2018
Freshman guard Trevor Moore scored 14 points as No. 6 Cincinnati dominated from the outset while rolling to a 77-40 victory over Central Florida on Tuesday in American Athletic Conference play at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Ky.
Kyle Washington scored 13 points and blocked three shots, and fellow senior forward Gary Clark added 12 points for the Bearcats (22-2, 11-0 AAC), who won their 15th consecutive contest. Junior guard Justin Jenifer had 11 points for Cincinnati, which used an early 18-0 run to take control of the game.
Freshman guard Ceasar DeJesus scored 12 points for Central Florida (14-9, 5-6). The Knights shot just 28.3 percent from the field, including 0 of 14 from 3-point range to mark the first time since 2012 they haven't made at least one 3-point basket.
Central Florida junior guard B.J. Taylor shot 0-for-5 in 12 first-half minutes before missing the second half due to an ankle injury.
The Bearcats shot just 39.4 percent from the field but scored 22 points off 16 UCF turnovers and possessed a 48-31 rebounding advantage. Cincinnati improved to 10-1 all-time against the Knights and limited Central Florida to an average of 39 points in this season's two victories.
An early surge allowed the Bearcats to cruise to their latest victory.
Cincinnati held Central Florida to 19.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half while taking a 33-13 lead into the break.
A.J. Davis hit a jumper just 28 seconds into the game for the Knights before Cincinnati rolled off the next 18 points. UCF missed 13 shots and went 12:36 without scoring a point.
Washington and Jenifer capped the burst to give the Bearcats an 18-2 lead. Davis hit two free throws to end the drought with 6:56 left in the half.
The lead reached 20 for the first time when Jenifer drained a 3-pointer to make it 29-9 with 2:50 left in the half. It was again 20 at the break.
The halftime intermission didn't stifle Cincinnati's charge as the Bearcats opened the second with a 12-2 push. Sophomore guard Jarron Cumberland's layup made it 45-15 with 16:25 remaining.
Jenifer made two three throws to end an 8-0 spurt that made it 70-36 with 5:33 left.
The Bearcats' lead topped out at 40 points.
--Field Level Media