Baba Miller logged 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead Cincinnati to an 88-51 win over visiting Alabama State on Wednesday.
Miller made 11 of 12 field-goal attempts for the Bearcats (7-4), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Shon Abaev chipped in 13 points.
Last year’s leading scorer Jizzle James added 16 points in his first game back with the Bearcats after being dismissed from the team in August as he attended to a personal matter.
Micah Simpson led Alabama State (3-8) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Asjon Anderson chipped in nine points for the Hornets, who have lost five consecutive games.
Cincinnati outscored Alabama State 44-20 on points in the paint, as the Bearcats shot 49.3% from the field (33 of 67) while Hornets hit just 29% (20 of 69).
Miller opened the scoring with a 3-pointer as the Bearcats reeled off an 8-0 run before Jerquarius Stanback got the Hornets on the board with a dunk. Moments later, a Day Day Thomas alley-oop pass found Halvine Dzellat for a dunk as Cincinnati took a 12-4 lead.
A 6-0 run kept the Hornets close, as Tyler Mason’s corner jumper cut the Bearcats’ lead to 12-10. James then made his presence felt. His first hoop of the season resulted in a three-point play, and Cincinnati led 15-10.
Powered by James’ scoring, Cincinnati held a 28-14 advantage in bench points.
A 10-0 run allowed the Bearcats to take control of the game, and James’ 3-pointer put Cincinnati up 35-16 with 6:38 left in the first half.
Miller capped the first-half scoring when he dunked an alley-oop pass from Kerr Kriisa as the Bearcats had a commanding 50-25 halftime lead. Another Miller dunk — one of his eight in the game — pushed Cincinnati’s lead to 61-31 with 14:11 remaining.
The Bearcats led at least 26 throughout the second half and continued to attack in the paint. Cincinnati had 13 dunks and seven blocks in the game.
