Cincinnati 99, Georgia Southern 54

Published Dec. 15, 2010 3:10 a.m. ET

Ibrahima Thomas scored 11 of his 12 points by halftime as Cincinnati handled Georgia Southern early in a 99-54 win on Tuesday night.

Yancy Gates, Rashad Bishop and Dion Dixon also scored 12 points each as the Bearcats improved to 9-0 for the first time since 2004-05 when they began the season 11-0.

Larry Davis added 11 points and Sean Kilpatrick chipped in 10 for the Bearcats, who had six players in double-figures after having five in Saturday's 92-72 win over Utah Valley.

The 99 points against the Eagles (3-8) were the most by Cincinnati during Mick Cronin's five-year tenure as head coach.

Eddie Tyree missed a free throw with 7.6 seconds remaining as the Bearcats fell one point shy of scoring 100 points for the first time since 2005.

Cincinnati built a 50-23 lead at halftime and was efficient with the ball all night. The Bearcats dished out 26 assists while turning it over nine times. The Bearcats' full-court pressure defense helped them force 15 turnovers on eight steals, two each by Bishop and Thomas.

Georgia Southern was led by Rory Spencer and Eric Ferguson, who scored 16 points each.

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Bishop began the game with consecutive 3-pointers to put the Bearcats ahead 6-0, and they never looked back. Bishop went 4-for-4 shooting, making him 11 for 11 from the field in his last two games.

Gates' blocked shot led to a fast-break layup by Kilpatrick to make it 60-29 early in the second half. Gates had a team-leading three blocks.

Kilpatrick missed a 3-point attempt but Darnell Wilks' follow-up dunk put Cincinnati ahead 71-33 with 12 minutes remaining. Wilks led the Bearcats with eight rebounds to help them beat Georgia Southern 42-28 on the boards.

Cincinnati's bench outscored the Eagles 42-4.

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