NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Wilmington High School grads and cousins Jarron and Jaevin Cumberland each had huge games over the weekend.
Jarron earns honor
Coach Mick Cronin’s Bearcats, led by Jarron Cumberland’s 25 points, won the Emerald Coast Classic championship by defeating Mississippi 71-57 on Saturday night. Cincinnati had lost the 2014 title game to the Rebels in the tournament’s first year.
Cincinnati (5-1) squandered a 13-point first half lead before roaring back.
“Every team, they’re going to make their runs, but we’ve just got to stay calm and play our game,” said Cumberland, who was named the tournament’s outstanding player.
The 6-foot-5 junior guard was deadly from the charity stripe, making 13 of 14 free throws although he hit only five of 17 shots from the field. No other Bearcats scored in double figures.
“We only gave up 24 points in the second half ‘cause our guys really were in tune with what Ole Miss was trying to run against us as much as the coaches were,” Cronin said. “And when you do that you get better defensively as the game goes on and that’s how you win games — second half defense.”
Cumberland said the Bearcats hope the tournament title will be a stepping stone to more success as the season unfolds.
“It means a lot because it’s one of the first ones,” he said. “We’re looking ahead of us and ready for the (American Athletic) conference tournament and the NCAA tournament, too.”
Jaevin nets 31
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Jaevin Cumberland and Xavier Hill-Mais combined for 59 points as Oakland University rallied in the second half to beat Oral Roberts 87-76 on Saturday.
Cumberland had a career-best 31 points, hitting 7 of 12 from the floor and making 15 of 15 free throws. Hill-Mais was 10-of-20 from the floor, making 8 of 9 free-throw attempts for 28 points as Oakland was 26 of 28 from the line. Oral Roberts made 11 of 15 free-throw attempts.
Braden Norris also had a career-high 14 points for Oakland (3-3).
Oral Roberts held a 37-35 halftime advantage but the Grizzlies started the second half on a 15-5 run to go ahead 50-42 less than five minutes into the second period. They pushed that to 74-61 with 7:09 left after a Cumberland layup.
