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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Cincinnati 119, Fairleigh Dickinson 68
When: 2:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials: # Rodrick Dixon, # Mike Nance, # Justin Qualls
Attendance: 7017

CINCINNATI -- By tournament time, Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin wants to be able to go eight or nine deep down his bench.

In the past two games, Cincinnati's bench produced 107 points. That comes as no surprise to the starters, who say the subs often get the best of them at practice.

"They give us problems," said senior guard Kevin Johnson. "It'd be a great game if we played."

On Saturday, the bench scored 56 points and Johnson led six players in double figures with a career-high 18 points as No. 25 Cincinnati rolled past Fairleigh Dickinson 119-68 at Fifth Third Arena.

"We can be a devastating team when we shoot the ball (well)," Cronin said. "We're unselfish and we pass the ball, we just haven't made shots."

Cincinnati had no issues in that area Saturday, setting an American Athletic Conference single-game scoring mark. The 119 points were the most in any game during Mick Cronin's 10 seasons as head coach and the fifth-highest total in school history.

Jacob Evans added 17 for the Bearcats, who scored their most points since dropping 122 on St. Joseph's (Indiana) on Dec. 11, 1976.

Cincinnati's bench outscored Fairleigh Dickinson's reserves by 35 points on Saturday.

"When we play Top 25 teams, we need to be an eight- or nine-deep team," Cronin said. "We don't have five lottery picks. We're not Duke."

Stephan Jiggetts led Fairleigh Dickinson (2-9) with 24 points and Darian Anderson added 13 for the Knights, who have lost seven straight games by an average margin of 18 points. FDU shot just 31.7 percent.

"I talked to Mick (Cronin) after the game and just kiddingly they said they don't even shoot that well in practice," said Knights coach Greg Herenda. "So hats off, Cincinnati has a really, really good team. Obviously today they were firing on all cylinders, they shot it, they shared it, they guarded."

Bearcats forward Kyle Washington returned to the starting lineup after not starting Tuesday's game against Texas Southern. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Washington scored six quick points, including a dunk to put Cincinnati ahead 14-11. A 3-pointer by Justin Jenifer made the score 25-12 as the Bearcats hit 8 of 10 shots to open the game.

Johnson's dunk made it 41-14 with 6:52 remaining in the first half and the rout was on. Johnson and Evans each scored 15 first-half points.

Cincinnati led 65-26 at halftime behind 67.6 percent shooting, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range.

Fairleigh Dickinson shot just 24.1 percent in the first half and committed 15 turnovers, which Cincinnati converted into 22 points.

The Bearcats continued to pour it on in the second half. Evans' one-hand jam off a lob from Troy Caupain made it 76-35.

The game was decided so early that chants for popular walk-on forward Zack Tobler began around halftime. He entered the game with six minutes left and tied a career high with five points.

"The way we came out and the way we were playing, I thought this might be a game I will get in (early)," Tobler said.

Bearcats freshman guard Jarron Cumberland, who scored a career-high 18 points and hit four 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over Texas Southern, had 11 points and three 3-pointers Saturday.

Cincinnati shot 64.7 percent on Saturday, the fourth-highest shooting percentage in school history.

"We don't underestimate our opponent," Johnson said. "We wanted to smother them on defense. We felt we had a good rhythm today and got into a good flow."

NOTES: Cincinnati's 65 first-half points were its most in one half since Feb. 5, 1998, vs. DePaul (68). ... The Bearcats have won 15 straight home games dating to a 77-70 loss to Temple on Dec. 29, 2015. ... Cincinnati leads the series with FDU 3-0. The teams hadn't played since 1991. ... Following Saturday's game, Fairleigh Dickinson has 12 days off before beginning Northeast Conference play against Saint Francis. ... The Knights' past three opponents ranked in the top 20 nationally in team defense.
Top Game Performances
 
Fairleigh Dickinson   Cincinnati
Stephan Jiggetts 24 Scoring Kevin Johnson 18
Stephan Jiggetts 5 Assists Troy Caupain 8
Nadi Beciri 6 Rebounds Gary Clark 8
Stephan Jiggetts 11 Free Throws Made Jacob Evans 5
Mike Holloway 2 Steals Kevin Johnson 3
Malik Miller 1 Blocks Nysier Brooks 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Fairleigh Dickinson 68 31.7 8-20 20-22 15 26 2 5 22
Cincinnati 119 64.7 12-25 19-29 29 41 4 13 12