Jerrod Calhoun got the result he wanted in his Cincinnati debut, but the first-year Bearcats coach is still looking for a cleaner, calmer 40 minutes.
Cincinnati opened the season Monday with a 79-53 win over American, though the game was tight at halftime. The Bearcats carried just a 35-33 edge into the break before separating in the second half. They’ll be back at home Thursday night against Green Bay, and Calhoun made it clear he wants a more settled start.
“I thought we took a lot of 'me' shots early,” Calhoun told Sports Illustrated. “We settled.
I think four of our first five shots were contested threes. I hadn't seen this group do that.
Not to say we're selfish. I just think we were way, way too antsy, and hopefully we'll be more settled on Thursday.”
Cincinnati’s opener also came with an early scare. Senior forward Jayden Hastings went down with a shoulder injury in the first minute, and Calhoun said he is questionable for Thursday.
“Looked like it popped out of the socket and then it came back in,” Calhoun said.
That injury, along with American’s 12 points off turnovers, helped keep the Bearcats from taking control before halftime. Once the game opened up, senior guard MJ Collins Jr. and Towson transfer Tyler Tejada helped carry the offense. Collins scored 13 points, with nine coming after the break, while Tejada also finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Green Bay arrives with a much different kind of momentum after rolling past Lawrence 94-51 in its season opener Monday. The Phoenix buried 15 3-pointers in the win.
Ne'quan Brown led Green Bay with 14 points off the bench, and Marcus Hall added 12.
“When we put this team together, we felt like we needed more quality shooting, and we needed more length and athleticism on the wings defensively,” coach Doug Gottlieb said. “I think we got a lot of hands on a lot of basketballs with deflections.
The first half we played excellent defense. ... We just wanted them to get a rhythm of playing together.”
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