Simas Lukosius scores 16 and No. 16 Cincinnati improves to 6-0 with a 77-59 win over Alabama State

CINCINNATI (AP) Simas Lukosius scored 16 points to lead No. 16 Cincinnati to a 77-59 win over Alabama State on Wednesday night.

Jizzle James had 13 points and five assists for the Bearcats who have started 6-0 for the second time in coach Wes Miller's four seasons.

Dillon Mitchell, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Bearcats' win at Georgia Tech on Saturday, scored 10 points with eight boards before leaving the game with an injury with 11 minutes remaining.

Amarr Knox scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for Alabama State (3-4) while Jalen Keago added 12 points for the Hornets.

Lukosius hit a pair of 3-pointers to help the Bearcats build an early 10-2 lead.

Cincinnati led 46-33 at halftime and the Bearcats' defense helped them pull away in the second half as Alabama State went 7 for 30 from 3-point range.

Alabama State: The Hornets faced a ranked opponent for the first time since the 2021 season when they had consecutive losses to No. 16 Texas and No. 25 Texas Tech.

Cincinnati: Last year's leading scorer Dan Skillings Jr. could return soon after being injured in the season opener. Skillings had minor surgery on his knee but began shooting and doing light work in practice this week.

TJ Madlock missed a wide open dunk that would have cut Alabama State's deficit to six points late in the first half. Mitchell responded with six straight points to extend the Bearcats' lead to 39-25.

Connor Hickman, who transferred to Cincinnati after three seasons at Bradley, needed four points to reach 1,000 for his career. He only played 24 minutes due to an injury in the first half and didn't score.

Alabama State plays at SMU on Tuesday night, and Cincinnati plays at Villanova also on Tuesday night.

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