Cincinnati 56, SMU 50: Farad Cobb scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half as the host Bearcats ended the Mustangs’ eight-game winning streak.

Octavius Ellis went 6-of-7 from the field to finish with 12 points and added three steals for Cincinnati (10-3, 1-0 American Athletic), which learned on Friday that Mick Cronin will not coach for the remainder of the season. The Bearcats overcame 18 turnovers – one shy of matching a season high – and a 6-of-19 effort beyond the arc with 59.1 percent shooting in the second half.

Ryan Manuel scored all 14 of his points in the second half for SMU (10-4, 1-1), which fell a game short of matching its longest winning streak since 1997-98. Nic Moore chipped in 11 points but committed a career-high six turnovers while Yanick Moreira tallied all nine of his points in the opening 20 minutes.

SMU used a 14-3 surge to build an early eight-point edge, but Cincinnati held the Mustangs to one field goal over the final eight-plus minutes of the first half to claw within 22-19. Manuel hit three straight shots in the first 3 ½ minutes after the break to keep SMU in front temporarily before Cobb scored nine straight points to spark a 15-2 surge and give the Bearcats a nine-point lead midway through the second half.

Manuel continued his stellar play with two more buckets, but was answered yet again by Cobb, who sank two 3-pointers as Cincinnati stretched the margin to 49-39 with four minutes to go. Markus Kennedy answered with a dunk and capped an 8-2 spurt for the Mustangs on a bank shot with 28 seconds left, but the Bearcats went 5-of-6 from the foul line thereafter to preserve the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cronin (arterial dissection) announced he will remain in an advisory role as part of his recovery. Assistant coach Larry Davis is 3-1 in Cronin’s absence. … SMU lost the rebounding battle for only the second time (29-26) while its offensive output was the worst of the season – 21.5 points below its AAC-best scoring average. … The Bearcats have held their opponents below 70 points in 17 consecutive games – the longest streak in the nation.