Central Plains FFA Chapter

11/26 20:40 CST Eastern Michigan jumps out early and beats Cincinnati 64-56 Eastern Michigan jumps out early and beats Cincinnati 64-56 CINCINNATI (AP) --- Carlos Hart scored 15 points, and Eastern Michigan built a big early lead and held off Cincinnati for a 64-56 victory on Wednesday night. Eastern Michigan, which rebounded from a 41-point loss against sixth-ranked Louisville on Monday, led by as many as 17 points in the first half and had its largest lead in the second, 38-23, with 17:41 left. Cincinnati later used a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to 48-47 with 5:03 remaining. Day Day Thomas hit two 3-pointers and Kerr Kriisa had one for the Bearcats during the stretch. The Eagles then pulled away with four free throws and a Hart 3-pointer to push the advantage to 55-47. The Bearcats got within 59-54 but didn't get closer. Hart finished with a pair of 3s and was 5-of-5 shooting from the line. Mohammad Habhab added 13 points and made 7 of his 8 free-throw attempts for Eastern Michigan (4-3), which shot 43% overall and 86% (19 of 22) from the free-throw line. Jon Sanders II finished with 10 points. Thomas made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lead Cincinnati (5-2). Sencire Harris added 12 points. Sanders and Mak Manciel scored eight points apiece as Eastern Michigan shot 50% (13 of 26) overall and built a 36-23 halftime lead. Thomas scored eight first-half points to pace the Cincinnati, which shot 30% (9 of 30) from the floor.

Up next Eastern Michigan hosts NJIT on Friday. Cincinnati hosts Tarleton State on Monday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football