HOUSTON \u2014 An undermanned Cincinnati men\u2019s basketball team dropped a 76-54 decision to No. 10\/7 Houston Saturday afternoon at the Fertitta Center. With the loss, the Bearcats drop to 11-11 on the year and 3-6 in the Big 12, while the Cougars improve to 19-2, 7-1 in conference play.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati already was without Sencire Harris<\/a> (illness) and Shon Abaev<\/a> (lower body injury), who didn\u2019t make the trip to Houston, but then saw starting center Moustapha Thiam<\/a> go down with a lower body injury late in the first half.<\/p>\n Jalen Celestine<\/a> led Cincinnati with 15 points, while Keyshuan Tillery<\/a> added a career-high 14, including three triples. Milos Uzan led Houston with 16, while Chris Cenac Jr., Emanuel Sharp and Isiah Harwell poured in 13 apiece.<\/p>\n Both teams started cold from the field, each going 2-for-9 as Houston opened a 6-4 lead on an Emanuel Sharp right-wing three at the 14:38 mark. After Houston extended its advantage to 10-5, a Kerr Kriisa<\/a> corner triple made it a two-point game at 10-8 with 12:32 remaining.<\/p>\n But the Bearcats hit a dry spell again, coming up empty on their next five possessions as the Cougars pushed their lead to 14-8. However, a Day Day Thomas<\/a> three and a Celestine baseline jumper, sandwiched around an Isiah Harwell jumper for the Cougars, trimmed the deficit to 16-13 with just under eight minutes left to play in the half.<\/p>\n