Cincinnati Routs DePaul 109-73

Ruben Patterson scored 23 points and No. 20 Cincinnati rebounded from one of its toughest losses in years to rout DePaul 109-73 Thursday night.

It was the highest point total all season for the Bearcats (17-4, 8-1 in Conference USA), who beat DePaul for the 14th straight time.

Doc Taylor scored a season-high 17 points to pace DePaul (6-16, 2-8), which played without leading scorer Jermaine Watts, who has an injured right knee.

Melvin Levett added 19 points and Bobby Brannen 14 for Cincinnati, which was coming off a 67-65 defeat Sunday at the buzzer to South Carolina, a game in which the Bearcats blew a 20-point lead.

Patterson, who did not start, scored 10 of his points in a 21-5 run at the close of the first half that gave Cincinnati a 20-point lead. The Bearcats then opened the second with a 12-2 spurt behind six points from D'Juan Baker to go ahead 53-23.

DePaul got no closer than 19 in the second half.

Patterson, who averaged 21 points and nine rebounds as a starter in the previous three games, entered the game with 8:03 left in the half and the Bearcats nursing a 20-16 lead.

Patterson started the 21-5 run with a slam follow and then capped it with a driving layup in the closing seconds. He also hit a pair of 3-pointers in the spurt as Cincinnati moved ahead 41-21 at the half.

Without Watts and his 15.9 points average, the Blue Demons had trouble scoring, going 7-for-30 from the field in the first half.

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