Dillon Mitchell scores 14 points, Cincinnati outlasts Arizona State 67-60
CINCINNATI (AP) — Dillon Mitchell led a balanced offense with 14 points and Cincinnati overcame a long second-half shooting drought to defeat Arizona State 67-60 on Saturday.
A layup by Mitchell gave Cincinnati a 17-point lead three minutes into the second half. The Bearcats didn't score again until another layup by Mitchell made it 46-35 with 14 minutes remaining. They went the next six minutes without a basket, going 0 for 10 and committing two turnovers. Dan Skillings Jr. was the only Cincinnati player to score during the drought, making 6 of 8 free throws.
A dunk by Jay Quaintance had Arizona State within 52-48, then a dunk by Skillings and a 3-pointer from CJ Fredrick put the Bearcats up 57-48 with about five minutes remaining.
A Skillings layup gave Cincinnati a 65-56 lead heading to the final minute. Arizona State got within 65-61 with 38 seconds left but Jizzle James made two free throws for a 67-61 lead with 31 seconds to go. Arizona State had two turnovers in the final half-minute.
Skillings and James scored 12 points each and Simas Lukosius added 10 for the Bearcats (11-6, 2-4 Big 12).
Jay Quaintance had game highs of 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Sun Devils (10-7, 1-5). Alston Mason scored 13 points and BJ Freeman had 12.
After six lead changes in the first eight minutes, the Bearcats went on a 16-0 run to build a 24-11 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half. The Sun Devils went 6:40 without a point, missing 10 shots.
Cincinnati, which is now 11-1 when leading at halftime, led 36-22 at the break.
The Bearcats host Texas Tech on Tuesday. Arizona State plays at West Virginia on Tuesday.
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