Harrison Morton

CINCINNATI - One minute it was Eric Hicks powering his way to the rim and soaring above a defender for a basket. The next time down the court it was Jason Maxiell doing the inside work with either a powerful dunk or a short jumper.

When it was all over Monday night, the 1-2 inside punch of Hicks and Maxiell had led the University of Cincinnati to a 103-64 victory over Northern Kentucky University in an exhibition game at the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

Hicks netted 19 of his game-high 29 points in the first half as Cincinnati bolted out to a 43-25 lead. The burley 6-foot-6 forward controlled the inside and was 9-for-12 from the field during the first 20 minutes and finished with 13 rebounds.

“Eric has gotten a lot better. He is really, really strong and his work ethic has gotten better,” Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins said. “Eric’s situation has changed this year. We cannot afford for him or Max to take days off because we don’t have a lot of bodies up front right now.”

Maxiell, a powerfully built 6-7 forward, scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and added eight rebounds. The Bearcats - who built a 22-3 lead just 10 minutes into the game - used a 48-33 advantage on the boards to coast past NKU.

“Hicks and Maxiell controlled the inside, and they are a pair of powerful guys in the paint,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “They (UC) dominated us and it was a learning lesson. Their defensive pressure just took us out of it early, and we were not ready to play tonight.”

NKU freshman forward Harrison Morton scored 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Mike Kelsey netted 14 points for NKU, but the Cincinnati defense constantly pressured the Norse senior guard and allowed few open looks.

During NKU’s exhibition opener at the University of Kentucky last week, Kelsey scored a game-high 27 points.

Jason Maxiell goes over Brian Lewin

James White added 18 points and six rebounds for Cincinnati, while Jihad Muhammad finished with 14 points and three assists. The Bearcats shot 59.5 percent from the field in the second half and limited NKU to 7-for-25 shooting from three-point range.

Kevin Schappell scored seven points for NKU, while teammate Tory Reed added six points and five rebounds. The Norse are now 0-4 against Cincinnati in exhibition games during the past four seasons.

NKU will conclude its exhibition schedule at Ohio State University at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Norse begin the regular season Nov. 19 in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic with a 7:45 p.m. game against Michigan Tech University in Regents Hall.

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