David DeJulius scored 21 points in 21 minutes and the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team pulled away from Alabama A&M 89-66 Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena to improve to 3-0 under first-year head coach Wes Miller.
Mike Saunders Jr. scored 14 points, Ody Oguama added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jeremiah Davenport chipped in with 12 points, all coming from 3-point range, to lead the Bearcats, who outscored the Bulldogs 52-34 in the second half.
"As I told the guys in the locker room, winning's winning," Miller said. "It matters, and we're always going to appreciate it and enjoy it. So I'm proud of us finding a way to win."
After storming out to an 11-4 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by Davenport and DeJulius, the Bearcats found themselves in a tight battle into the second half.
After a John Newman III turnover, Alabama A&M pulled within 39-36 with 17:40 to play. Davenport slammed the ball down on the court in frustration and Miller called a timeout.
"The guys were already talking amongst themselves before I even got into the timeout," Miller said. "I thought for the next eight or nine minutes we were pretty darn good. I thought we guarded. I thought we played aggressively but within our structure offensively, and some really good things happened to us. We were able to push a lead out and it was difficult for Alabama A&M for the rest of the way from there."
