MASON - The first thing that stood out at the Lindner Tennis Center wasn’t the score. It was the weather.
A bright October sun poured over the outdoor court, and both coaches ended up in shades before long. The glare made for a strange setting, but the University of Cincinnati handled the conditions better once the second half got rolling, storming past Ohio State 79-68 in an exhibition opener.
Tylen Riley and Tyler Tejada powered the turnaround. Cincinnati trailed 35-30 at the break, then flipped the game by outscoring the Buckeyes 49-33 after halftime.
Riley finished with 23 points, and 18 of them came in the final 20 minutes. Tejada added 17, with 15 arriving in the second half.
Center Jayden Hastings also gave the Bearcats a strong lift, putting up 16 points and six rebounds in a little more than 21 minutes.
"It was Tyler Tejada, Tylen Riley and Jayden," UC head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "That was really good basketball for a big portion of that second half."
Riley said the Bearcats have enough depth that different players can take over on any given night.
"It can be anybody's night anytime. Myles Colvin went out early (injured).
MJ (Collins) is out. We have a lot of threats.
This is a dangerous team."
Colvin left after tumbling out of bounds in the first half and played only 2:41, scoring two points. It was treated as a precaution, and he is expected at practice Friday.
Cincinnati’s transfer group played a major role in the comeback. Riley arrived from Tulsa and Tejada from Towson, while Trevian Carson from North Dakota State also drew praise after making the Bearcats’ first 3-pointer and finishing with two assists and three steals. Carson posted a plus/minus of 24, the best number in the game, and logged 30:44, more than anyone on the floor.
"I know when I line up and I see him on my side, I'm confident we're going to win the game," Riley said. "He's a difference maker on the defensive end."
Elijah Perryman led UC with five assists.
The shooting numbers told the story of a game that was messy early and much cleaner late for Cincinnati. The Bearcats were just 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half, and they didn’t hit one until 2:56 remained before halftime, when Carson finally connected. Adlan Elamin added another before the break, but UC was only 2-for-12 from deep and 6-for-14 at the line in the opening 20 minutes.
Ohio State didn’t exactly light it up either, going 2-for-8 on 3s and 9-for-15 on free throws in the first half.
Once both teams were shooting into the sun in the second half, Cincinnati settled in. Calhoun said the Bearcats eventually found the rim much better, and the numbers backed that up.
UC shot 65% after halftime and 48% for the game, while Ohio State finished at 41% overall and 36% in the second half. The Bearcats also controlled the glass, 45-35, and outshot the Buckeyes in the second half 65% to 36%.
"We knew the game was going to be ugly," Calhoun said. "I think for a first-year group to have that ugliness and still come out with that aggression the last eight minutes, I thought it was a toughness level and togetherness. To beat a team that went to the Round of 32 with some guys back, that's a pretty good sign."
Ohio State was led by John Mobley Jr., who scored 15 points, 10 of them in the first half.
Cincinnati outworked the Buckeyes on the boards from the start, grabbing a 26-14 rebounding edge in the first half before finishing with a 45-35 advantage. Adlan Elamin led the Bearcats with eight rebounds, and Eric Mahaffey added seven. UC also played 11 players in the first half, and all 13 available Bearcats saw the floor.
It won’t count in the standings, but it gave Cincinnati a solid start in exhibition play. The Bearcats are now 1-0 and will face another Big Ten opponent next, Illinois, on Oct.
- Ohio State’s next exhibition is against Butler in Columbus on Oct.
"I'm happy with the way we competed," Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. "We just didn't execute to some degree. We are a much better shooting team than 4-for-23, and I don't know how many airballs we had."
The game also had a notable face in the crowd. Scottie Pippen, the Hall of Famer from the Chicago Bulls and the Dream Team, was spotted at the opener. His son, Justin Pippen, is an Ohio State starter.
Cincinnati’s next test is already on the calendar, and the tip time has been moved up. The Bearcats will host Illinois at Fifth Third Arena at 5 p.m. on Oct. 17, instead of 7 p.m., because Cincinnati football plays at noon that day in Morgantown against West Virginia.
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Bearcats Gave Fans Plenty To Love And One Clear Concern
A preseason exhibition rarely gives a program much more than a few hints, but Cincinnati got a useful one at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason when it knocked off Ohio State 79-68. The Bearcats showed they could control the glass and create extra possessions, outrebounding the Buckeyes 45-35 while piling up nine steals, and Tyler Tejadas 17 points helped steady an offense that needed time to find its rhythm.
What made the afternoon even more encouraging was the scoring punch Cincinnati found in reserve. Tylen Riley led both teams with 23 points after coming off the bench, giving the Bearcats a dynamic option they can lean on as the games start to count. The one area Jerrod Calhoun seemed least pleased with afterward was the whistle, with the coach unhappy about how many free throws Ohio State was able to get, a concern worth watching as the competition level rises. [Read more 🡒]