Jerrod Calhoun's 1st win as Cincinnati Bearcats coach wasn't easy

Jerrod Calhoun has his first official win as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats under his belt. UC pulled away from the American Eagles in the second half at Fifth Third Arena to give Calhoun career win No. 298 and his first at his alma mater, 79-53. Senior Tyler Tejada and fifth-year player MJ Collins Jr. led UC with 13 points each. Senior Tylen Riley had nine points and five assists, sophomore Akai Fleming had nine points and six rebounds and sophomore David Iweze had eight points and seven rebounds with four steals. The Bearcats were 8-for-27 from 3-point range with American finishing 7-for-29. UC outrebounded the Eagles 48-32. UC has now won seven straight season openers and eight straight home openers. Calhoun played 13 guys most of the game and 14 overall. After a somewhat nervous first half, the second half turned into a late dunkfest with the student section staying for the duration. Things were briefly tense for UC, American near halftime The inaugural UC win might not be one of Calhoun's favorites, as the Bearcats led by 11 with 3:37 left in the first half, only to see American tie the game. MJ Collins made a pair of free throws before the break to give UC the slight, two-point edge. Six minutes into the second half, the Bearcats were back up double digits. UC Bearcats center Jayden Hastings injured Just 43 seconds into the game, starting center Hastings went up for an offensive rebound and was hit. Hastings would leave the floor. The 6-foot-10 senior would return later in the half for a couple of minutes, but was hit again and forced to leave. Hastings came back to the bench in the second half, but was a spectator the rest of the evening. Iweze and fifth-year player Amani Lyles helped fill the void in the paint. Over 15 years between official wins for UC's Jerrod Calhoun at Fifth Third Arena Yes, he coached the exhibitions with Illinois and Oakland University, and if you go back to 2014, he was here with his Fairmont State team for a preseason game against Mick Cronin's Bearcats. But his last official win with a program in Fifth Third Arena came Jan. 29, 2011, when West Virginia beat UC 66-55 and Calhoun was Director of Basketball Operations for the Mountaineers and Bob Huggins. 13,176, a sellout in the old Shoemaker Center configuration, were there. WVU was led by current Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla with 16 points. Mazzulla was guest speaker at Calhoun's first Tip-Off dinner for the Bearcats in September. So, over 15 years ago, Calhoun was a winner just as he was Nov. 2 as the man chosen to return the Bearcats to NCAA relevance. Quick turnaround for UC Bearcats UC is back Nov. 5 for another 7 p.m. tip with the Green Bay Phoenix of the Horizon League. Next week it's a Nov. 9 tip at 7 p.m. with the Big Ten's Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 1989, the current arena was christened with an upset of then-No. 20 Minnesota, 66-64 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Steve Sanders. It was the first Cincinnati win for Bob Huggins.