Tigers Drop Conference Opener At Cincinnati Sunday

Sunday, December 31

Highland Heights, Ky.

3 PM

University of Memphis

9-5 (0-1)

Cincinnati

12-2 (1-0)

Memphis

Cincinnati

Dec 31, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Memphis-Cincinnati Boxscore Memphis Season Statistics

Brewton leads squad with a game-high 17 points.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The University of Memphis tried, but had no luck stopping the nation's longest home-court winning streak.

Cincinnati, picked in the preseason by the league's coaches to win the AAC, got 15 points from Jarron Cumberland and a double-double from Gary Clark (13 points, 10 rebounds) to defeat the Tigers, 82-48, at Northern Kentucky's BB&T Arena. UC's Fifth Third Arena is undergoing renovations and unavailable this season. The game was the conference opener for both Memphis and Cincinnati.

Memphis was led by Kareem Brewton. He came off the bench and scored 17 points, all in the second half. Mike Parks added 10 points, including his first 3-pointer of the season.

The No. 21/22 nationally-ranked Bearcats (12-2, 1-0 The American) extended their home winning streak to 34 games. UC hasn't lost at home in two years.

For the Tigers, it was their largest margin of defeat to the Bearcats. The previous largest was an 88-57 loss in the 1992 NCAA Elite Eight.

Cincinnati took control late in the first half when it put together a 15-2 run to go up, 33-13. During the stretch, the Bearcats got three 3-pointers, including long-range makes on back-to-back possessions by Trevor Moore and Jarron Cumberland.

Memphis (9-5, 0-1 The American) struggled in the first half in all phases. The Tigers shot 25.9 percent (7-of-27), missed each of their five free throw attempts and committed eight turnovers. UC led 35-16 at the half.

In the second half, the Tigers were outscored 14-3 at the outset and fell behind by 30 with about 15 minutes to play. Cincinnati led by 30 or more for much of the half.

Jimario Rivers returned to the starting lineup after coming in off the bench in Thursday's loss to LSU. Also, David Nickleberry returned after missing the LSU game with flu-like symptoms. Neither Rivers or Nickleberry scored although they played a combined 30-plus minutes.

The Tigers continue conference play with another road game at UCF Wednesday. Tipoff from Orlando, Fla., is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT), and the Memphis-UCF game will be carried by ESPN3.