Cincinnati Overpowers Ohio, 73-59

Ohio’s slowdown offense lulled Cincinnati for a half, but Pete Mickeal led a second-half run that rallied the nation’s top-ranked team to a 73-59 victory Friday night at Cincinnati.

Ohio (9-8) kept Cincinnati’s lead to single digits throughout the first half and trailed, 34-29, at halftime. Mickeal and Jermaine Tate got Cincinnati (16-1) energized early in the second half, setting up the Bearcats’ 39th consecutive victory at home.

Tate made two baskets and Mickeal rebounded Tate’s missed free throw for a basket. Mickeal’s three-point basket finished a nine-point run that made it 45-32, Cincinnati’s first double-digit lead.

After Ohio cut the margin to six points again, Mickeal made two more driving baskets and a free throw to prevent a relapse. Ohio never got closer than 11 points.

Mickeal had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Tate added 13 points.

Steve Esterkamp scored 13 points and Sanjay Adell had 12 for Ohio.

WOMEN

No. 2 Tennessee 92, South Carolina 76--The Volunteers used a big first-half run to take control and cruised to a Southeastern Conference victory at Columbia, S.C.

Tennessee (13-2, 3-0) opened with a 9-2 run, then used an 18-0 run midway through the half to take a 34-10 lead on the way to a 49-31 halftime advantage.

“I was very disappointed in the first 10 minutes of the game,” South Carolina Coach Susan Walvius said. “It was very difficult to dig out of that hole we put ourselves in.”

Michelle Snow, who led Tennessee with 24 points, had five points during the first-half run, then got 17 in the second half to end any hopes South Carolina (10-5, 0-2) had of getting back into the game.

Cincinnati 70, No. 13 Tulane 59--Portia Flournoy scored 17 points and led two decisive spurts as the Bearcats (8-6, 2-2) upset the Green Wave (14-1, 3-1) in a Conference USA game at Cincinnati, handing the visitors their first loss of the season.

Tulane wasted an 11-point lead in the first half and failed to score for nearly seven minutes in the second half as Cincinnati pulled away.

No. 19 UC Santa Barbara 99, Boise State 72--Erin Buescher scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Gauchos (12-3) over the Broncos (7-7) in a Big West Conference opener at Santa Barbara.

Stacy Clinesmith added 12 points and 12 assists for the Gauchos.

Stephanie Block scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting for Boise State.

Santa Barbara scored six consecutive points to open the game and was in front the rest of the way. The Gauchos increased their lead to 34-14 on a jumper by Clinesmith with 6:03 to play in the half.

No. 22 Old Dominion 108, Richmond 67--Hamchetou Maiga scored 25 points and Lucienne Berthieu added 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Lady Monarchs (10-3, 3-0) to a Colonial Athletic Assn. victory over the Spiders (6-8, 1-2) at Norfolk, Va. Old Dominion won its 86th consecutive conference game.