CINCINNATI (AP) — Trevon Scott scored a career-high 22 points as part of his second double-double on Tuesday night, and Cincinnati’s bigger front line dominated in a 78-65 victory over Northern Kentucky, the school that shared its home court with the Bearcats last season.

The Bearcats (8-1) have won eight straight since an opening 64-56 home loss to Ohio State.

Scott went 12 of 13 on free throws, making his first dozen attempts. He also matched his career high with 10 rebounds.

Northern Kentucky (8-2) fell behind by 20 points in the first half and never got closer than 12. The Norse are off to their best start since moving up to Division I two years ago.

The schools shared Northern Kentucky’s home court last season while the Bearcats’ on-campus arena was renovated, with Cincinnati going 15-1. The only blemish was a loss to Wichita State.

Scott made 10 free throws in the first half and had 14 points — one shy of his career high — as the Bearcats took control. Their taller front line dominated the Norse, outrebounding them 19-4 at the outset. Cincinnati went 26 of 33 on free throws overall.

Tyler Sharpe scored 16 for Northern Kentucky. Junior guard Drew McDonald, the Horizon League’s preseason player of the year, missed all seven of his shots in the first half and his first eight overall before scoring with 16:25 left. McDonald finished 3 of 15 for eight points.

Jarron Cumberland had 12 points and led UC with five assists.

BIG PICTURE

Northern Kentucky: The Norse have prospered by driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Coming into the game, their 228 free throws ranked 11th nationally. They couldn’t get inside Cincinnati’s defense and got only five free throws in the opening half. They finished 6 of 15 at the line.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are playing four games against Northern Kentucky over seven years as part of the arrangement to share its arena last season. Each team gets a pair of homes games in the arrangement. They hadn’t played since the 1980s.

UP NEXT

Northern Kentucky plays at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

Cincinnati hosts crosstown rival Xavier on Saturday. The Musketeers have won eight of 11 in the series, including an 89-76 win last season on Xavier’s campus.

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