Cincinnati Earns 77-63 Exhibition win over Carleton

The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team opened the 2013-14 season Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena with an exhibition win against Canadian powerhouse Carleton, outscoring the Ravens 77-63. The Bearcats pulled away during the final six minutes of the contest, outscoring Carleton 19-8 during the span. UC scored the final seven points of the contest to make the final score their largest lead of the game.

During the second half the Bearcats shot 51.9 percent compared to 37.5 percent for the Ravens. The Bearcats used a second-half scoring advantage of 39-31 after outscoring Carleton 38-32 in the first half. The Cincinnati defense contributed significantly to the win, recording 10 steals and six blocks compared to two steals and no blocks for the Ravens.

The Bearcats were led by Sean Kilpatrick (Yonkers, N.Y./Notre Dame Prep) who totaled 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting. The senior was 7-of-9 from the free throw line with three assists and two steals.
Justin Jackson (Cocoa Beach, Fla/Arlington Country Day) added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting during 32 minutes of action. Both his points scored and field goals made would be career-high marks during a regular-season contest. The senior also swatted away a game-high five shots and pulled down seven rebounds.

Sophomore Shaquille Thomas (Paterson, N.J./NIA Prep School) and senior Titus Rubles (Dallas, Texas/Blinn College) also reached double-digits in scoring, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. Thomas was 5-of-7 from the floor with seven rebounds while Rubles was 4-of-6 with six rebounds
Cincinnati countered Carleton's long-distance shooting early in the first half after the Raven's first 12 points all came from three-point range. Senior Justin Jackson (Cocoa Beach, Fla/Arlington Country Day) aided UC's early effort with the Bearcats' first six points. Thomas and freshman Troy Caupain (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) also added scores to eventually even the scoring at 12 with 14:32 in the half.
The back-and-forth scoring continued throughout most of the first half, with UC gaining a slight edge as the half came to a close. The Ravens held their final lead of the game at the 7:44 mark of the first half at 18-17. From there the Bearcats gradually built a lead, outscoring Carleton 21-14 over the final seven minutes of the half.

Junior Jermaine Sanders (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Rice) and freshman Kevin Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) each added three's during the stretch while Kilpatrick netted seven points to give UC the 38-32 lead at the break.

BOX SCORE LINK
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/cinn/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2013-14/box_score/stats_20131026aaa.pdf