The No. 22 Cincinnati Bearcats held on to beat SMU 66-64 on Thursday night, in an American Athletic Conference basketball matchup that lived up to its billing.
UC went up 66-61 on two free throws by freshman guard Jarron Cumberland with 2:33 left. UC did not score again, and watched a desperation SMU 3-point attempt go awry at the final buzzer.
Junior forward Gary Clark led UC with 18 points, senior guard Troy Caupain scored 16, and junior forward Kyle Washington scored 11 for the Bearcats.
A season-high home crowd of 11,344 watched at Fifth Third Arena, along with a national TV audience on ESPN.