Simas Lukosius scores 20 as No. 20 Cincinnati beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 109-54

CINCINNATI (AP) — Simas Lukosius scored 20 points, Dan Skillings Jr. added 17 and No. 20 Cincinnati beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 109-54 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams.

Connor Hickman had 13 points and Jizzle James had 12 for the Bearcats, who had six players score in double figures.

Dante Sawyer led the Golden Lions with 11 points.

The Bearcats got off to a sluggish start but overwhelmed the Golden Lions with a 17-2 run to close the first half.

James beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to make it 55-32.

Cincinnati is ranked in the AP poll for the first time since 2018-19, the last time it reached the NCAA Tournament.

Takeaways

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Cincinnati is the one of two ranked opponents on the schedule for the Golden Lions, who play No. 19 Texas on Dec. 15. The Golden Lions are 0-33 against ranked foes since moving to Division I in 1998.

Cincinnati: Tyler McKinley, a 6-foot-9 forward who was expected to contribute as a freshman, is out for the season, and third-leading scorer Day Day Thomas is recovering from a foot injury. But the Bearcats' depth showed, with 12 players seeing action and 10 scoring.

Key moment

The Bearcats were 4 of 10 shooting to start the game, but consecutive baskets by Lukosius and a breakaway dunk by Skillings highlighted a 10-0 run that helped them build a big lead.

Key stat

Cincinnati shot 68% from the free-throw line last season, which proved costly in close losses to Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma. The Bearcats went 13 of 23 (56.5%) from the line on Monday night.