Immanuel McElroy (Mike Simons photos) | ZOOM |

        Bob Huggins doesn't have to ask Immanuel McElroy to shoot the ball anymore. That's great news for the University of Cincinnati. Perhaps the highlight of the preseason for the Bearcats has been that McElroy seems quite comfortable as an offensive weapon.

        The senior guard-forward scored 22 points in Monday night's 96-66 exhibition victory over Kentucky Wesleyan, the defending Division II national champion.

        “In practice, I felt pretty good shooting the ball and it carried over into the games,” McElroy said. “My teammates are getting me open, and I'm knocking down shots.”

        It's more than his scoring totals that have been impressive.

        Ponder these numbers:

Rodney Crawford | ZOOM |

        • McElroy connected on his first 10 shots in UC's two exhibition games and finished 16-of-19 from the field (.842) and 2-of-2 from the foul line. His first miss came 8:43 into Monday night's game.

        • Last season, he averaged 4.97 shots and 7.0 points a game; in the two preseason games, he averaged 9.5 shots and 17 points.

        His season-high a year ago was 16.

        “He's played really well,” Huggins said. “He knows he has to. I think he likes the fact that other guys are counting on him; I think he relishes that.”

        “He's playing, he's not thinking,” senior guard Steve Logan said. “He's re ally been working on his game. His conditioning is unbelievable; he never gets tired out there. He runs the floor and gets some easy baskets. Anytime you get easy baskets, it helps your team. Mac's real comfortable right now. He's working hard; he deserves it.”

Steve Logan | ZOOM |

        Logan had 22 points and seven assists for the Bearcats, who open their regular season Friday night at No.18 Oklahoma State. Sophomore guard Field Williams added 16 points and three steals off the bench; he was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

        Senior forward Jamaal Davis scored 13, and junior center Donald Little grabbed a team-high six rebounds, all in the second half. Freshman Jason Maxiell finished with 10 points and five boards in 19 minutes — nine of his points came in the final 2:48.

        Cincinnati had a better challenge from Kentucky Wesleyan than it did Saturday against Northern Kentucky even though the final deficit was greater (30 to 28).

        Though the Bearcats started the game with an 18-2 lead, the Panthers fought back and were within eight points with 3:22 left in the first half.

        But UC finished the half on 7-2 run, led 44-31 at intermission, then started the second half on a 10-2 run. It was 21-point game at that point.

Bob Huggins | ZOOM |

        “We took a couple quick shots, bad shots,” Panthers coach Ray Harper said. “Against Cincinnati, that's as good as a turnover. I thought Cincinnati played very well defensively. They took us out of everything we wanted to do.”

        There was never a danger of UC losing, but Kentucky Wesleyan — the preseason No.1-ranked team in Division II — scrapped until the final buzzer. The Panthers were hurt by 21 turnovers and 38.3-percent shooting. They did, however, outrebound UC 34-31.

        “I thought we were better,” Huggins said. “I didn't like much really Saturday (against NKU). I thought we sustained our intensity a whole lot better today.”

        CINCINNATI - Logan 6-9 10-10 22, McElroy 10-13 2-2 22, Williams 5-8 2-2 16, Davis 4-6 5-7 13, Maxiell 3-6 4-6 10, Little 3-5 0-1 6, Crawford 1-4 2-3 4, Stokes 1-4 1-1 3. Totals: 33-57 26-32 96.

        KENTUCKY WESLEYAN - R. Evans 7-13 6-8 22, Sanders 4-8 3-3 11, Landry 5-11 0-0 11, Boswell 3-5 0-0 7, Zuerner 1-6 2-2 5, Earl 1-3 2-2 4, Floyd 1-5 1-1 3, Rogers 1-2 0-0 2, G. Evans 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 23-60 15-20 66.

        Halftime-UC 44, KW 31. 3-point goals: UC-Williams 4-5. KW-R.Evans 2-4, Boswell 1-1, Landry 1-5, Zuerner 1-5. Assists: UC 19 (Logan 7), KW 6 (Earl 2). Rebounds: UC 31 (Little 6), KW 34 (R.Evans 7).

UC 96, Kentucky Wesleyan 66 UC women play Oakland in NCAA soccer

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