Jacob Evans and Kyle Washington provided the first-half sparks and veterans Troy Caupain and Gary Clark closed the deal in the second half as Cincinnati crushed Brown 84-55 on Friday in the first round of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-off tournament in Cincinnati.

Evans scored 13 points in the first half on his way to a game-high 23 points. Washington added 10 points in the first half and finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the Bearcats (1-0) cruised to the easy win.

Caupain, the American Athletic Conference's Co-Preseason Player of the Year, was held to 10 points. Clark, a unanimous preseason all-conference pick, tallied 14 points and nine boards.

The hallmarks of Mick Cronin's Cincinnati teams have always been defense and rebounding, and both were on display against Brown (0-1).

Cincinnati held Brown to 31.6 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Bears 43-23.

Obi Okolie scored the first point of the season to give the Bears their only lead of the night at 1-0. The Bearcats reeled off 11 straight points to take control.

Caupain scored only three points in the run, but also had two boards, a steal and block to ignite the Bearcats.

The Bears got within 14-11 on Joshua Howard's jumper, but the Bearcats were too strong and too athletic for Brown.

Washington's jumper made it 27-19 at the 7:01 mark and then it was Clark's turn to start asserting his power. A couple layups, a steal and a dunk, and suddenly Cincinnati was in cruise control at half with a 43-25 lead.

The Bearcats are the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Association and on Friday they showed why.

Brown, coming off an 8-20 season, was led by co-captain JR Hobbie with 12 points.