Playing in their first August exhibitions in seven years, the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team concluded its stay in the Baha Mar Summer League in The Bahamas with a 107-66 clobbering of Calgary on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The Dinos outscored UC in the second half 43-42, but trailed by 42 at halftime.
UC leaves Nassau 2-0, with a couple of months before they play more fall exhibitions that don’t count, but give head coach Jerrod Calhoun some insight on the upcoming season.
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After being held to 29% from the 3-point line vs. Victoria, UC blistered the Bahamian nets to the tune of 56%, going 20-for-36 vs. Calgary.
Senior Myles Colvin led the Bearcats with seven 3-pointers and 25 points in just 19 minutes. Calhoun saw 13 Bearcats play, with 11 of them playing double-digit minutes. Joining Colvin in double figures were Akai Fleming and Tyler Tejada with 14 points each and Adlan Elamin, who was scoreless until late in the second half, but finished with 10 points.
“I’m really happy that Myles saw the ball go in,” Calhoun said. “I thought he had one of the most productive offensive summers I’ve seen a kid have. He can just fill it up. Same thing with Tyler Tejada. The offense was elite throughout the game, where we got a little lackluster was our intensity on the defensive side in the second half.”
The Bearcats banged the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds to Calgary’s 24, and improved on their free-throw shooting from the first day, going 11-for-13 for 85%.
Cincinnati Bearcats wing Myles Colving was hot from the 3-point line against Calgary, Aug. 5 in the Bahamas.
UC’s Jerrod Calhoun goes with different lineup… briefly
On day one, Calhoun started Elijah Perryman, MJ Collins, Colvin, Tejada and Jayden Hastings. In this second game, he began with Trevian Carson, Fleming, Elamin, Eric Mahaffey and Riley Allenspach, but that group was pulled less than two minutes into the game with Calgary in front.
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In came five more Bearcats, and UC was off and running, eventually leading the game for over 36 of the 40 minutes.
“They had 12 points in the first two and a half minutes, so we weren’t ready to play,” Cahoun said. “The next 18 minutes, we were absolutely dominant. I think we went on a 50-11 run and they only scored 23 (by halftime).”
Triples fall for Bearcats at Baha Mar Resort
In the Victoria win, UC made nine 3-pointers for just 29%. By halftime vs. Calgary, they already had 13, and they finished the game with 20. Colvin, who played in the event last year for Wake Forest, took particular liking to the rims, going 7-for-11 from long distance.
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“It’s going to be harder for teams to stop us when we have 10 guys that are capable of dealing damage to the opposing team,” Colvin said. “We’re all ready. We share the ball. We play the right way.”
Tejada was also effective for the Bearcats, going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line, and Carson made all three of his.
“I think we’re pretty deep,” Calhoun said. “I don’t think we’ll have a 20-point scorer. I think we’ve got multiple guys who can get double digits.”
Elijah Perryman runs the point for the Cincinnati Bearcats against the Calgary Dinos in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League in Nassau Aug. 5.
Different strokes for different Bearcats
“Next man up” is something heard often in athletics and the Bearcats had plenty of firepower vs. Calgary. MJ Collins and Perryman were in double figures vs. Victoria, but held to nine points each vs. Calgary. Calhoun doesn’t worry about individual slumps.
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“If they’re not playing well, they know we’ve got guys off the bench that can help it and that’s the power of a real team,” Calhoun said. “We recruit to that. We recruit strength in numbers and we want versatility in all different positions. I think everybody on this team can really play.”
Defensive intensity fell off late for Bearcats
UC forced 32 turnovers and scored 49 points off of those against Victoria. It was a decent story vs. Calgary as only 16 turnovers were forced, resulting in 24 points. Where UC did excel was in fast break points, which they led 27-0.
“We just have to keep on keeping our foot on their neck and just make sure they’re not able to breathe and get comfortable again,” UC’s Colvin said. “In the second half, they were a lot more comfortable. We weren’t really pressuring them as much.”
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Cincinnati Bearcats Baha Mar Summer League Game 2 opponent
The Calgary Dinos were playing their third exhibition, having played two in British Columbia before arriving in Nassau. On July 28, Calgary lost to Purdue 79-48, then lost the next day to Marquette 102-49. Looking at their record from last season, the Dinos were 17-17.
They lost exhibitions to Nevada and Murray State in last year’s event and also lost during the season to UC’s previous opponent, Victoria, 91-78. Before being drubbed by UC, Arkansas beat the Dinos 105-48.
Bahamas games were UC’s 1st August exhibitions in 7 years
The last time the Cincinnati Bearcats played exhibitions in August came under Mick Cronin in 2018, when they won two of three in Canada. They beat Ottawa, lost to Carleton, and then defeated McGill. If you’re looking for a silver lining, that season resulted in an American Athletic Conference tournament championship with wins over SMU, Wichita State and Memphis and an NCAA Tournament slot in Columbus vs. 10th-ranked Iowa. That was UC’s last NCAA appearance and it unfortunately ended in a loss.
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When is UC’s next stateside exhibition?
The next public look at Cincinnati Bearcats basketball will come Wednesday, Oct. 7 in the CareSource Invitational on a special court at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason. The Bearcats are slated to play Ohio State at 3 p.m. that day, followed by Xavier vs. Dayton at 5:30. The backup arena plan in the event of bad weather is UD Arena.
Tickets cover both games and are available via Ticketmaster.
Cincinnati Bearcats point guard Tylen Riley should return by October
Riley, who injured his left, non-shooting hand before the trip to The Bahamas, is expected to be re-evaluated in four to six weeks. The transfer from Tulsa was the favorite to start at point guard and came to the Bearcats in late April after leading the Golden Hurricane to the NIT championship game.
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“He’s obviously got to be an elite player, an elite decision maker,” Calhoun said. “He’ll be back probably about two weeks before the Ohio State exhibition.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC basketball finishes Bahamas trip blowing out Calgary
