Sean Kilpatrick scored 14 points and the Cincinnati Bearcats extended their season-opening win streak to 14 - their longest in 12 seasons - with a 70-53 Big East win over Seton Hall on Friday night.
Ibrahima Thomas scored 12 points while just missing his third double-double of the season, and fourth of his career, with nine rebounds. Rashad Bishop added 10 points as Cincinnati improved to 2-0 in Big East for just the second time in six seasons in the conference. The Bearcats also were 2-0 last season.
The season-opening win streak is the longest for Cincinnati (14-0) since the 1998-1999 team opened 15-0. The win streak is the Bearcats' longest in any one season since the 2001-2002 team won 20 straight.
Keon Lawrence scored a career-high 15 points while Herb Pope and Edwin Fuquan each added 10 to lead Seton Hall (7-7, 1-1), which has lost three of its last four games.
Cincinnati, which went into the game allowing a Big East-best 54.5 points per game, limited Seton Hall to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Pirates set their season low in a 57-52 loss to Xavier on Nov. 21.
The Pirates continue to play without Jeremy Hazell, who was leading the team in scoring with an average of 24 points per game before suffering a broken left wrist against Alabama in their third game. Hazell accompanied his teammates to Cincinnati despite being shot in an attempted robbery in New York on Christmas night.
Seton Hall was the Big East's worst-shooting team with a .418 field-goal percentage going into the game, and didn't help matters. The Pirates missed their last seven shots from the field in the first half after Fuquan made a 3-pointer with 8:37 left to take a 23-22 lead. Six Seton Hall free throws kept Cincinnati from taking more than a 35-29 lead at halftime.
The Pirates also missed their first four shots of the second half before Fuquan scored on a layup with 16:45 left to trail 39-31. Seton Hall made just six field goals in the second half.
