STORRS — Jacob Evans III scored 19 points to lead No. 8 Cincinnati to its 14th straight win, 65-57 over a struggling UConn team.
Kyle Washington added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats (21-2, 10-0 American), who never trailed.
Jalen Adams scored 20 points and Christian Vital added 18 for the Huskies, who have lost five of their last six to fall below the .500 mark at 11-12 (4-6) American.
The Bearcats shot just 36 percent from the floor, 10 percentage points below their season average. But they held UConn to 29 percent.
Cincinnati opened the game with three straight 3-pointers and ran out to a 13-0 lead. The Huskies missed their first 10 shots and didn’t score until Christian Vital drove the lane for a layup almost eight minutes into the game.
The Bearcats had a drought of their own, getting just six free throws over a nine-minute span before a 3-pointer from Evans made it 26-16.
A 3-pointer by Keith Williams at the halftime buzzer sent the Bearcats into the locker room up 32-21.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Cane Broome eight minutes into the second half extended the lead to 17 points and the Bearcats weathered a late 12-4 UConn run.
BIG PICTURE
Cincinnati: A win in its next game against UCF would tie the team’s longest winning streak in the 12-years since Mick Cronin took over as head coach. The school record for consecutive wins is 37, during the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons.
UConn: The Huskies are now 27-29 over the past two seasons. UConn has lost 12 straight against ranked opponents and is 0-5 against the Top 25 this season. Despite their struggles, this was the Huskies first loss on campus this season. The Huskies are now 5-1 at Gampel Pavilion.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati: Heads home to face UCF on Tuesday before at two-game road trip to SMU and Houston.
UConn: The Huskies remain at home to face USF on Wednesday. It will be the first time this season the Huskies have had back-to-back games at Gampel Pavilion.
