Led by balanced scoring and solid defense, host Cincinnati defeated Western Carolina 94-63 in the teams’ season opener Monday night.
It was the Bearcats’ first game with a vastly different roster, and four different players scored in double figures for them, with Baba Miller, Shon Abaev and Moustapha Thiam each posting 18 points. Jordi Rodriguez added 10.
Miller, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, showed his ability as a slasher and finisher, connecting on 7 of 9 shot attempts and leading the Bearcats (1-0) with 10 rebounds.
Thiam — an in-conference transfer from UCF who is on the Kareem Abdul-Jabaar Center of the Year Preseason Watch List — connected on 6 of 7 shot attempts and hitting a 3-pointer in the second half.
Ten different Bearcats had an assist, with Kerr Kriisa, a transfer from Kentucky, leading the way with four.
Day Day Thomas, last year’s leading scorer for the Bearcats, was held to just eight points but added three assists, three rebounds and two blocks.
Western Carolina was led by Cord Stansberry’s 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting and 4-of-9 3-point shooting. The Catamounts were held to just 35.9% shooting from the field, including 9-of-27 from 3-point range.
Cincinnati shot 54.2% from the field and 10-of-28 from 3-point range. The Bearcats were 20-of-30 from the free-throw line.
An early 11-0 run gave Cincinnati a 25-8 advantage, and the Bearcats led by as many as 28 points before Stansberry hit a layup and a 3-pointer to help Western Carolina cut it to 49-28 by halftime.
Miller had two dunks in the opening minutes of the second half, putting to rest any faint thoughts of a Catamount comeback.
The 94-63 win is the Bearcats’ sixth straight season-opening win, and head coach Wes Miller improved to 5-0 in season openers as the Bearcats’ head coach.
