Freshman guard Jaquon Parker scored a career-high 15 points, and Deonta Vaughn matched his season high with 20, helping depleted Cincinnati hold on to beat South Florida 78-70 on Wednesday night.
The Bearcats (13-6, 4-3 Big East) built on their 60-58 win over Notre Dame on Saturday, gritting one out with a thinned-out front line. South Florida (11-7, 1-5) fell to 6-21 all-time against the Bearcats.
Freshman Lance Stephenson sat out after twisting an ankle in practice on Tuesday, and the Bearcats' top two front-line players - Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy - picked up their third fouls early in the second half, leaving Cincinnati severely short-handed. Gates got his fourth foul with 13:51 left, played only 10 minutes and had eight points.
Dominique Jones led South Florida with 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting.
