Cincinnati Bearcats (AP) CJ Fredrick scored 14 points, Aziz Bandaogo added 12 points and matched a career best with 17 rebounds, and Cincinnati pulled away in the second half to beat Bryant Bulldogs 85-53 on Tuesday night.

Cincinnati (8-1), which had its best start to a season since 2017-18 end on Saturday after an 84-79 loss to Xavier, shot 59% (16 of 27) in a 55-point second half against Bryant and had a 57-33 rebound advantage.

Fredrick was 4-of-8 shooting and 3 of 7 from long range. Bandaogo was 2 of 4 from the floor and made 8 of 12 free throws. John Newman III, Dan Skillings Jr. and Jizzle James each added 11 points. Viktor Lakhin also had double-digit rebounds with 12.

Connor Withers scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers to lead Bryant (6-6), which shot 32% (21 of 66) from the floor.

Cincinnati took the lead for good on Fredrick's 3-pointer with 4:51 left in the first half. Bryant stayed within double digits early in the second before Day Day Thomas’ 3-pointer sparked a 12-2 run and the Bearcats led 67-50 with 5:04 remaining. Bandaogo scored five points during the stretch and capped it with a dunk.

Cincinnati hosts Dayton on Saturday. Bryant plays Towson on Saturday in the Holiday Hoopfest at Elmont, N.Y.

--- Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here --- AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.