No. 12 Cincinnati rolled to its third straight win of the season, while Temple and Tulsa each advanced in the winner’s bracket of their respective tournaments on Thursday.
No. 12/13 Cincinnati 97, Coppin State 54
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) -- Jarron Cumberland led Cincinnati's opening blitz of 13 made shots, and the 12th-ranked Bearcats pulled away to a 97-54 victory over Coppin State on Thursday night.
The Bearcats (3-0) piled up 107 and 102 points while beating Savannah State and Western Carolina, and were trying to reach triple digits in three straight games for the first time in school history. They came up short, failing to make a field goal in the final 4 minutes.
They made quick work of the Eagles (0-3), who have yet to score more than 54 points in a game. Cincinnati made its first 13 shots -- five from beyond the arc -- while racing ahead 35-13. Cumberland had 12 of his 17 points in the Bearcats' perfect opening spurt.
Karonn Davis scored 10 points for Coppin State, which is playing three road games in four days.
Cincinnati won its 29th straight home game, a streak that spans two home courts. The Bearcats are playing this season at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University while their on-campus arena is renovated. They went 18-0 at Fifth Third Arena last season.
Temple 76, Old Dominion 65
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Shizz Alston Jr. had 23 points on five 3-pointers and Quinton Rose added 20 points as Temple opened its season with a 76-65 victory over Old Dominion at the Charleston Classic on Thursday.
The Owls (1-0), who were the last Division I team to play their first game, will face Auburn of the Southeastern Conference on Friday for a spot in Sunday's championship game. Old Dominion (2-1) plays Indiana State in the loser's bracket of the eight-team event.
Temple led by 19 points early in the second half before the Monarchs rallied to within 54-53 on Ahmad Caver's tip-in basket with 9:19 to go. But Alston followed with a 3-pointer to extend Temple's lead.
Old Dominion came within 67-65 on Brandon Stith's bucket with 2:08 left. This time, Rose stroked a three on Temple's next possession and the Owls went on to the victory.
Xavier Green had 15 points to lead Old Dominion in its first-ever meeting with Temple.
Tulsa 81, Western Michigan 74
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) -- Curran Scott scored 17 points and Tulsa led wire-to-wire in beating Western Michigan 81-74 on Thursday night in an opening-round game in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Tulsa (2-1) will take on Iowa State in the semifinals Friday while Western Michigan (1-2) faces Appalachian State on the campus of Coastal Carolina where the tournament was moved because of hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.
Junior Etou added 15 points and Elijah Joiner 11 points and seven rebounds for Tulsa, which shot 50 percent and did much of its damage inside with 40 points in the paint while making just 3 of 18 from 3-point range.
Sterling Taplin, who finished with 10 points, scored six of Tulsa's first seven points in a 20-7 run. The Golden Hurricane stayed ahead by double figures until Reggie Jones' 3-pointer cut the lead to nine, 77-68, with 1:16 to go.
Thomas Wilder led the Broncos with 19 points and seven assists. Josh Davis added 14 points and eight rebounds, Bryce Moore 13 points and Brandon Johnson 11 points.