Cincinnati defeated Florida A&M, 77-50, Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena. Jeremiah Davenport led the team by scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

It was the third meeting between the two teams, with the Bearcats winning the first two as well. The victory improved Cincinnati's overall record to 8-3 and their home record to 6-1.

The Bearcats (8-3) went on 11-0 and 10-2 runs in the first half to give themselves a comfortable 34-22 lead going into the break, which they extended after halftime. They didn't give up any points from 4:52 in the first half to 17:14 in the second half, going on a 9-0 run in that seven minutes and 38 seconds.

Mike Saunders Jr. was the one to spark it all, scoring seven of nine early points for the Bearcats to put them up 17-12. That was the beginning of an 11-0 run through 10:17 to put the Bearcats up 22-12. He ended with nine points.

From there, it was balanced scoring and shutdown defense that won the game. The Bearcats had six players with seven or more points, which is tied for the most in a game this year.

Just as Florida A&M cut the deficit to four points, the Bearcats shut the Rattlers down, holding them scoreless for two minutes and 53 seconds while extending their lead back up to 10 points.

The Bearcats went into the break on a 10-2 run, only giving up one basket during last seven minutes and 21 seconds of the first half. Cincinnati's defense was stingy, forcing 14 turnovers on the night.

An alley-oop off the inbounds pass from Saunders Jr. to Ody Oguama put a bow on the half for UC, holding the lead in double-digits and giving the team and fans an energy boost. That dunk was two of Oguama's nine points.

Davenport kept the momentum going in the second half with a jump shot and a pretty fade away three-pointer as UC made six of eight shots to get its lead up to 22 points.

The lead would explode all the way to 63-32 as the Bearcats dominated the boards and grabbed their own offensive rebounds, ending with 19 of those on the night.