Bearcats Destroy UCF 77-49.

Jan 26, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Sean Kilpatrick (23) brings the ball up court during the first half against the Temple Owls at the Liacouras Center. Cincinnati defeated Temple 80-76. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati senior guard Sean Kilpatrick dropped in 23 points and forward Justin Jackson added 10 points as the No. 7 ranked Bearcats cruise to an easy 77-49 win over the Central Florida Knights on Wednesday night.

The Bearcats (24-3, 13-1 in the American) didn’t put another player on double figures, but jumped in front to a 40-18 halftime lead and never let the Knights get close in the game.

Cincinnati did as it pleased in the first half, essentially setting the outcome in the first 15 minutes of the game. The team shot 47.1 percent from the floor for the first half and limited UCF to 17.4 percent.

The Knights got off to a 10-2 run to start the 2nd half, and cut the Bearcats lead to 45-28, but it was short-lived.

The spark came from Jackson, who hit a shot to start a 12-4 run that concluded with a Kevin Johnson driving lay-up to push the Bearcats lead to 24 points at 54-30 with 11:48 left in the game.

With the Bearcats up big, they got players in the game for some playing time. The team got scoring from its 10 players.

The Bearcats outrebounded UCF 21-20 for the half and used it on their big runs in the first half.

The offense came from a variety of areas. Jackson scored eight points and Shaq Thomas added six points in the first 15 minutes. Then Kilpatrick happened, hit three 3 pointers in the last two minutes for nine of his 14 points in the first half.

We also want to congratulate Kilpatrick on passing sharp shooter Steve Logan for 2nd in the school’s all-time scoring list behind the great Oscar Robertson. He’s now 10 points away from 2,000 career points.

Next up rematch with No. 11 Louisville Cardinals, Saturday at Fifth Third Arena. Tip is at noon on CBS.