The Cincinnati Bearcats are a work in progress and beat a potential Ohio Valley Conference title contender Morehead State 69-61 tonight.
Gary Clark had a bit of a coming out party on Friday night against St. Francis and tonight’s was Farad Cobb’s turn. The transfer from Northwest Florida State shot lights out from three point land, putting up 24 points, which is now the single season high for a Cincinnati player this year. He single handedly broke the Bearcats’ scoring drought from beyond the arc, even if his teammates went 3 of 13 from there.
On the flip side, Cobb’s breakout performance chained Ge’Lawn Guyn, Kevin Johnson, and Deshaun Morman to the bench in the second half. Is this an indication that Mick Cronin will throw out his game plan and go with the hot hands if they present themselves? It seems so and given the turnover on the roster it’s not a bad strategy to adopt.
Additionally Octavius Ellis proved his worth not only in the paint but at the stripe. The power forward made 10 of 13 freebies to lurch his way to 16 points on the evening. Point guard Troy Caupain joined him with 8 points from the stripe to go along with his pair of field goals and 6 assists.
Overall, the Bearcats made progress tonight. It’s clear the star power on this team is beginning to emerge. It will just take some time for them to find each other seamlessly in the half court offense and fast break. Cincinnati can always lean on their defense but the offense will take baby steps this season. We as fans just need to have faith in the process.