UC slept through the first half tonight against the Houston Cougars, but managed to put together a great second half sparked by a 14-5 opening run to get the W. Now 13-5, 4-2 in AAC, and third place in the conference, the Bearcats are starting to find themselves offensively.
Collectively, the Bearcats shot the ball 51.2% for the game, and a whopping 61.9% in the second half, even making 16 of 17 free throws. Troy Caupain put up a team high 13 points with three 3-pointers, 6 assists, and 3 steals. When Caupain shoots the ball well, the court opens up and also allows him to dish the ball effectively, like tonight. Octavius Ellis added 11 points, on 3-of-3 shooting, and 5-of-5 at the line. Shaquille Thomas added another 10 points.
Cincinnati forced 19 turnovers (gave up 11), including 11 steals to add extra possessions and blow out Houston in the second half. Overall, the cats won the points off turnovers battle 31-15.
Bearcat Nation could certainly get used to watching the Cats obliterate teams in the second half like they did this week against Temple and now Houston.
Next up: Away against UCF (9-8, 2-4 AAC) on Sunday at 2 pm ET.
More here.