Mike Saunders Jr. scored 14 points and John Newman III added 11 points and seven rebounds as the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team ran out of gas in a 71-53 loss Tuesday night at No. 14 Houston.
While the Bearcats (17-13, 7-10) suffered their fourth straight loss and sixth defeat in seven games, The Cougars (25-4, 14-2) clinched at least a share of the regular-season American Athletic Conference championship for the third time in four seasons.
More:'We've just got to get back to playing Cincinnati basketball': UC vows to finish strong
UC, which suffered its fifth straight loss to Houston dating back to the 2019-20 season, started strong, knocking down three of its first five shots from 3-point range and owning an 11-9 lead at the first timeout.
But Cincinnati had no answer for Houston's Fabian White Jr. early. The graduate forward, who had a team-high 22 points in a blowout win over the Bearcats on Feb. 6, scored 11 of the Cougars' first 13 points, prompting UC coach Wes Miller to briefly switch to a 2-3 zone defense.
Houston countered with an 8-0 run.
Cincinnati went about eight minutes without scoring a field goal but led 20-19 after Mason Madsen knocked down a 3-pointesr with seven minutes to play before halftime.
After Houston guard Taze Moore nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the Bearcats trailed 38-34 after a first half that saw 16 lead changes.
White scored 20 of his career-high xx points before intermission. Mike Saunders Jr. and David DeJulius each had 7 to lead UC at the break.
Cincinnati outscored Houston 17-0 off the bench in the first half and 24-0 for the game.
UC began the second half with yet another scoring drought and the Cougars opened up a 48-38 advantage.
Houston pushed its lead to 60-43 just past the midway point of the second half, as the Bearcats started the second period 3-for-13 from the field with six turnovers. The Cougars scored seven points off second-chance opportunities during the stretch.
Miller picked up his first technical foul as UC coach with 5:11 to play and the score 62-47. Jeremiah Davenport appeared to be fouled on a pair of shots but did not earn a call from the officials, forcing Miller to jump out onto the court. The outburst led to a brief Bearcats run.
Led by a fast-break dunk by John Newman III over Houston's Ramon Walker Jr., UC cut it to 12 twice but couldn't get any closer.
Cincinnati shot just 5-for-16 from the free-throw line.
From Houston, the Bearcats head north to Dallas to face Southern Methodist (20-7, 11-4) on Thursday in their regular-season finale. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Cincinnati defeated the Mustangs 77-60 on Jan. 6 at Fifth Third Arena.
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