After a four-day stretch that started with a 38-point loss and ended with its starting point guard opting out of the remainder of the season, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team looked unfazed on Friday.
In front of a season-high 1,135 fans inside Fifth Third Arena, Jeremiah Devenport scored a career-high 27 points and the Bearcats outscored Tulane 47-31 in the second half to pull away for a 91-71 victory.
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The 20-point win was Cincinnati's largest margin of victory of the season and the team's sixth win in its last seven games.
Next: Cincinnati (9-8, 7-5 AAC) is scheduled to host Memphis (13-6, 9-3) on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+. It will be the fourth game in a seven-day span for the Bearcats.
What we learned from Friday's UPDATE xxx:
No David DeJulius
Cincinnati played its first game of the season without David DeJulius. The junior guard on Thursday opted out of the remainder of the season, citing citing his "mental issues due to COVID."
[Cincinnati Bearcats guard David DeJulius opts out of remainder of season]
The 6-toot Michigan transfer is the fifth UC player to opt out at some point this season, joining sophomore guard Zach Harvey, freshman guard Gabe Madsen, junior forward Mamoudou Diarra and graduate transfer Rapolas Ivanauskas. Diarra has since opted back in, while Ivanauskas joined BC Rytas, a professional club in Lithuania.
DeJulius had started every game at point guard for the Bearcats this season.
Cincinnati head coach John Brannen elected to put freshman Mike Saunders Jr. back in the starting lineup to replace DeJulius, who was averaging 10 points per game, third most on the team and an AAC second-best 4.6 assists per contest. His 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the American.
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The 6-foot Saunders started in the backcourt alongside DeJulius for the Bearcats' first five games following their 25-day pause due to COVID-19 protocols.
Mika Adams-Woods handled most of the point guard duties following the opening stretch before picking up his second foul in the first half. The 6-foot-3 sophomore finished with 16 points, seven assists and only two turnovers.
Saunders had a career-high seven points.
Davenport to the rescue
Tulane's Jaylen Forbes was on absolute fire early. The sophomore guard made his first six 3-point attempts and led all scorers with 21 points at halftime. Forbes opened the second half by draining another 3-pointer. The game would have gotten completely out of hand if it wasn't for Davenport.
The former Moeller High School standout did his best to keep pace with Forbes, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes. The sophomore guard hit four 3-pointers of his own in the first half and knocked down all three of his free throw attempts.
Forbes scored 37 points and won the two-man duel, but the victory went to the Bearcats.
Better late than never
Tari Eason and Mason Madsen and Saunders chose the right time to wake up. With the score knotted at 60 with 10:00 to play, the freshmen trio accounted for seven straight points to spark a 10-2 Cincinnati run that gave the Bearcats enough space to seal the victory.
[UC senior Chris Vogt embracing mentor role with younger teammates during turbulent season]
Eason made a layup, Madsen followed with his second made 3-pointer of the day, Saunders drove in for a layup, and Madsen finished the spurt with a basket and a made free throw on an and-one call.
Madsen finished with a career-high 11 points, while Eason scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the second half.
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