Bearcats Roared To A Win

Mar 18, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Sean Kilpatrick (23) brings the ball up the floor against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half in the third round of the 2012 NCAA men

College basketball is back! Well sort of. Cincinnati opened their season in the school’s first preseason exhibition game of the year. The Bearcats matched up against Grand Valley State on Monday night in Fifth Third Arena.

The number 24 Bearcats have high hopes this season and kicked it off like championship hopefuls should. Four Bearcat players reached double figures on their way to an 80-60 victory. The team played well together on both sides of the court.

The scoring was led by All-Big East junior guard Sean Kilpatrick with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Senior guards JaQuon Parker and Cashmere Wright backed him up with 16 and 13 points respectively. Junior forward Titus Rubles followed up the group of high performers with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Cincinnati went into the halftime with just a nine point lead, but opened up the flood gates after returning from the locker room. The Bearcats quickly came up with a 25 point lead mostly due to the three point shots from their top scorers, Rubles, Kilpatrick, and Parker. The players were firing on all cylinders.

Defensively, UC was on point throughout the entire game. The defensive intensity kept Grand Valley State to just a 38.6 percent shooting percentage. Not only did they keep them from high percentage shots, but they also blocked the Lakers 7 times. Senior center Cheikh Mbodj led the blocking charge with 5 blocks, matching his career high in a game.

Though this game didn’t mean anything in the big picture of the new NCAAM basketball season, it was a nice introduction to this powerhouse in Cincinnati. The team looked good, they played well together, and they look like they are ready for a championship run. If they can play this strong throughout the season, they definitely have a good chance of hoisting the trophy in the spring.