Cincinnati beats Cleveland St., runs home winning streak to 33
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Gary Clark scored 18 points, and Kyle Washington had a pair of put-backs that sparked a late run as No. 20 Cincinnati pulled away to an 81-62 victory over Cleveland State on Thursday night.
The Bearcats (11-2) struggled to extend their home-court winning streak to 33 games, the longest in the nation. Washington’s consecutive rebounds and baskets pushed it to 66-56 — only Cincinnati’s second double-digit lead of the game — and sparked a closing 21-8 run.
“They were just hitting shots and reading our defense well,” Washington said. “We had to weather the storm and come together. I thought it was a good test for us. They were sticking with us, sticking with us, and we just had to break through.”
Jarron Cumberland added 16 points for Cincinnati, which is playing this season at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University while its on-campus arena is renovated. The Bearcats went 18-0 at Fifth Third Arena last season.
Tyree Appleby had 16 points for the Vikings (3-8), who were playing their second road game in three days.
The Vikings stayed close by hitting threes. There were three ties and eight lead changes in the first half, with the Vikings shooting 68 percent from the field, including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Cincinnati didn’t lead by double digits until midway through the second half.
Miles Bridges had 17 points and nine rebounds as part of a balanced offense that gave host Michigan State (12-1) a victory over Long Beach State (5-9). Michigan State’s Joshua Langford had 17 points and Gahanna graduate Nick Ward scored 16 on 7-of-8 shooting.
Carsen Edwards scored 26 points, P.J. Thompson finished with 17 and host Purdue (12-2) cruised past Tennessee State (5-6). Purdue took control when it outscored the Tigers 32-5 during the final 14 minutes of the first half.
P.J. Savoy scored 17 points and host Florida State (11-1) made 19 three-pointers as it closed nonconference play with a victory over Southern Mississippi (7-5). Savoy and M.J. Walker (15 points) each made five three-pointers.
Jaylin Walker scored 25 points, including 19 in the second half, and Kent State (6-6) defeated Oregon State (8-4). Kent State, hosting a Pac-12 team for the first time, snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rodrick Caldwell and Justin Turner each scored 21 points and Bowling Green (8-4) beat host Green Bay (5-7) in overtime. Caldwell made a three-pointer in overtime and all six of his free throws four in the last 15 seconds to secure the win. He made 10 of 11 free throws for the game.
Marin Maric scored 22 points in 24 minutes off the bench and Max Strus scored 21 to lead host DePaul (7-5) over Miami (7-5). Charles Matthews scored 22 of his 31 points in the first half and host Michigan (11-3) routed Alabama A&M (0-12). The Wolverines also got 18 points from Duncan Robinson and 14 from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Josh Newkirk scored a seasonhigh 20 points as host Indiana (7-6) bounced back from a 20-point home loss with a rout of Tennessee Tech (8-5). The Hoosiers were coming off a 92-72 loss to Fort Wayne on Monday.
No. 8 Texas A&M suspended leading scorer DJ Hogg for three games and freshman guards JJ Caldwell and TJ Starks for one game, it was announced before Thursday night’s 89-73 victory over Buffalo. Hogg, a junior forward who averages 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, was suspended for a violation of school policy. Caldwell and Starks missed the game because of violations of team rules.