CINCINNATI, OHIO – Cashmere Wright scored a career-high 28 points and 20th-ranked Cincinnati defeated Campbell 91-72 Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats (4-0) shot 50 percent (32-64) from the field and hit 9-of-23 (.391) threes, while holding a 50-28 edge on the glass. Cincinnati finished with a 17-2 edge in second chance points.
JaQuon Parker added a season-high 21 points on 7-of-10 from the field, while Sean Kilpatrick had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bearcats, who led by 25 with 11:38 to play.
Darren White scored 19 of his team-leading 22 points in the second half for the Camels (2-3), who used an 18-4 run to cut the gap to 75-64 with 5:21 to play. However, point guard Trey Freeman fouled out with 4:21 remaining and the Camels could draw no closer.
"We became more assertive in the second half, but were facing a really, really good basketball team," said Camel head coach Robbie Laing. "We took a physical beating two games in a row, but I'm really proud of our effort. We're getting better. This is going to be a very valuable week for us."
White made 7-of-11 shots in the second period to hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time in five outings this year. The Big South Conference's leading scorer (25.5 ppg entering the game) added 7 rebounds in 33 minutes. Freeman finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting (3-of-3 threes) and 8 assists. Darian Hooker added 13, plus 4 assists, and Reco McCarter 10 points for the Camels, who shot 63 percent (17-27) in the second half, 47.5 percent (29-61) for the night.
David Nyarsuk's lay-in with 11:05 to play gave the Bearcats their largest lead (25) at 71-46. However, White (10) and Freeman (6) keyed the Camels' rally that cut the cap to 11 before the Big East members held off the Big South challengers.
"We were fighting and kept banging and banging, and had a chance," said Laing, whose team defeated opponents from BCS conferences in each of the previous two years. "But we made a couple of careless turnovers during that run and couldn't get it any closer."
After outscoring their first three opponents by an average of 39.7 points, the Bearcats rode an 18-2 run midway through the first half Tuesday to build a 21-point lead. Parker scored 7 of his 12 first-half points during the burst; including a trey that gave UC a 36-15 lead with 6:35 left.
Cincinnati led 46-28 at the break after Jeremiah Davis III hit a desperation 3 at the buzzer. Wright led all scorers at the break with 13 points, including 3-of-4 triples.
The Bearcats made 18-of-38 (.474) from the floor in the opening period, 5-of-14 threes (.357), but only 5-of-12 (.417) from the line. UC turned 9 offensive rebounds into an 8-0 edge in 2nd-chance points.
CU shot 35.3 percent (12-34) from the field in the opening half, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 2-of-5 from the line. McCarter scored 9 first-half points and Hooker 7 before the break.
Campbell continues its 4-game road trip in the Global Sports Classic on Friday when the Camels face North Carolina A&T at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Tip-off is set for 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST).
Notes:
Campbell is 0-10 vs. nationally-ranked schools in its Division I (since '77-78) history. Tuesday's game marked the 3rd-straight year in which the Camels have faced a nationally-ranked school. Campbell lost 70-60 at #21 Virginia Tech (11/12/10) and last year (104-81) at #25 Creighton (11/25/11).
