Rose leads No. 2 Memphis past Cincy

Rose leads No. 2 Memphis past Cincy

Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose poured in a career-high 26 points and dished out six assists, as second-ranked Memphis remained undefeated after a 79-69 victory over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.

Antonio Anderson was the only other player in double figures with 12 points for the Tigers (9-0), who played their first true road game of the campaign.

Andre Allen donated nine points off the bench for Memphis, which hit 12 shots from beyond the arc.

Deonta Vaughn netted 20 points for the Bearcats (4-6), who have dropped four straight. Adam Hrycaniuk and John Williamson each contributed 13 points in the loss.

Ahead by four, Memphis pulled ahead after rattling off a 10-2 run to take a 54-42 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining. Rose jump-started things with a trey and Willie Kemp followed with a three-point play. Robert Dozier then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but followed up with a tip-in off a Joey Dorsey miss. Dorsey ended the run with a free throw.

With just over eight minutes to go, Rose hit a jump shot in the paint to extend the Tigers lead to 62-49, and a layup by Dorsey a little less than two minutes later made it a 14-point game.

The Bearcats wouldn't go down without a fight and pulled within six, 68-62, with less than four minutes to go after Vaughn sunk a shot from beyond the arc. That was as close as Cincinnati would get through the remainder of the contest.

Memphis controlled the contest from the opening tip and went up 14-6 after Rose drained a three-pointer about five minutes into the contest.

The Tigers led most of the first half until Cincinnati closed out the stanza with an 11-1 run to pull within 33-32 at the break. Jamual Warren had four points during the surge.

Rose led Memphis with 10 points at halftime while Hrycaniuk paced the Bearcats with eight.

Game Notes

Memphis is 9-0 for the first time since the 1985-86 season when they went 20-0 to start the campaign...The Tigers have won four of their last five road openers and improved to 37-50 overall...The Bearcats held a 33-32 advantage in rebounds...Cincinnati ended with 16 turnovers.