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12/01 21:07 CST Kriisa leads balance offense in sending Cincinnati past Tarleton State 76-58 Kriisa leads balance offense in sending Cincinnati past Tarleton State 76-58 CINCINNATI (AP) --- Kerr Kriisa scored 20 points and Day Day Thomas scored 19 points as Cincinnati distanced itself in the second half in beating Tarleton State 76-58 on Monday night. Kriisa shot 6 of 11 from 3-point range and Thomas shot 5 of 11 from 3 while distributing six assists. Despite committing seven turnovers, Baba Miller scored 13 points --- shooting 4 of 6 --- and grabbed 11 rebounds. Shon Abaev scored 10 points and the Bearcats (6-2) got 14 points from the bench and shot 42% (15 of 36) from 3. Ocypher Owens led the Texans (5-4) with 16 points, Kaia Isaac scored 13 and Freddy Hicks 12. Owens' layup with 11:49 left brought the Texans within 52-45 and capped a 14-7 Tarleton State spurt that lasted a little more than five minutes. Cincinnati countered when Miller made two foul shots, Thomas went on a personal 8-4 run with consecutive 3s and a layup and Miller had a dunk with 8:12 left for a 64-49 lead. The Bearcats stayed ahead by double figures the rest of the way. The Bearcats appeared ready to blow it open early when Thomas made a 3 for a 24-12 lead with 8:13 before halftime. But Tarleton State responded and outscored Cincinnati 17-7 to get within 31-29 at halftime.

Up Next Tarleton State hosts Division III Howard Payne on Wednesday. Cincinnati will make the 2 1/2-mile trek to face nearby Xavier on Friday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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