Cincinnati wins AAC; seeded seventh in NCAA Tournament

CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 10: Jarron Cumberland #34 of the Cincinnati Bearcats dribbles the ball in the back court as Galen Robinson Jr. #25 of the Houston Cougars defends from behind at Fifth Third Arena on March 10, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bearcats beat the Cougars in Sunday’s AAC championship game in Memphis. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

CINCINNATI, OH - MARCH 10: Jarron Cumberland #34 of the Cincinnati Bearcats dribbles the ball in the back court as Galen Robinson Jr. #25 of the Houston Cougars defends from behind at Fifth Third Arena on March 10, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bearcats beat the Cougars in Sunday’s AAC championship game in Memphis. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Sports
March 17, 2019
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Jarron Cumberland had 33 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 24 Cincinnati past No. 11 Houston 69-57 for the championship of the American Athletic Conference on Sunday.

Cane Broome finished with 15 points and Tre Scott added 12. It was the second straight conference tournament title for the Bearcats (28-6), who defeated Houston in last year’s final. The victory puts Cincinnati into the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year.

The Bearcats earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will open against No. 10 Iowa on Friday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Armoni Brooks led Houston (31-3) with 17 points and Corey Davis added 12 for the Cougars, who were the tournament’s top seed.

In the second half, Cincinnati put the ball in the hands of Cumberland, voted the tournament’s most valuable player, and he responded with 20 second-half points. That was coupled with a Cincinnati defense that held the Cougars to 27.8 percent shooting after halftime, including Houston converting only 3 of 18 shots from outside the arc.

Houston got in trouble early in the second half when two quick fouls sent forward Breaon Brady to the bench with four fouls. About the same time, Fabian White went to the bench holding his right wrist.

At that point, the Bearcats were taking the lead to 15 points and really weren’t threatened the rest of the way.

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