CINCINNATI — Tennessee’s men’s basketball team has lost two consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years.
The Volunteers came up on the short end of a 78-66 decision Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena – the first true road game of the 2019-20 season – marking the first time that the Big Orange has suffered two straight losses for the first time since late-Dec. 2017.
It was a competitive game throughout much of the night, but the Bearcats (7-4) made the big plays down the stretch to nab a crucial home non-conference victory.
The Vols (7-3) led 51-50 in the second half, but Cincinnati took control down the stretch and the only thing that kept Tennessee close was the fact that the Volunteers were a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line.
UT had four players post double figures in the scoring column.
John Fulkerson led the Vols with 14 points, Jordan Bowden added 13. Lamonte Turner had 12 points, but was rendered ineffective at points because he was whistled for a pair of fouls early in the first half.
Yves Pons finished with 11 points for Tennessee.
Tre Scott had a game-high 15 points for the Bearcats. Mika Adams-Woods, Chris Vogt, Jaevin Cumberland and Keith Williams scored 11 points each for Cincinnati.
Jarron Cumberland finished with 10 points for the Bearcats, who had played three consecutive overtime games. The Bearcats lost two of those tilts to Xavier and Colgate after beating Vermont.