HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- Mick Cronin was too ill to speak with the media after 20th-ranked Cincinnati's 77-49 win over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday night.

Cincinnati's second-half performance didn't help. After opening a 43-16 lead by halftime, the Bearcats outscored the Golden Lions by just one point in the second half.

"In our scouting (Monday night), we told the guys, ‘We can't take two steps back," said associate head coach Larry Davis, filling in for Cronin. "We just played two really good games. We can't not rebound. We can't turn the ball over.

"At halftime, we had 31 deflections. In the second half, we had 20. You have to keep playing.

"Against a team like that, we probably should've had 60 because we're physically better. Deflections are important. They tell you hard your team is playing."

Cane Broome came off the bench to tie his season high with 17 points at Northern Kentucky's BB&T Arena. Jacob Evans III was the only other Bearcat to reach double figures.

Evans finished with 12 points as 11 players got into the scoring column for Cincinnati (10-2), which led by as many as 34 points on the way to a third straight win after dropping two in a row.

The Bearcats were coming a home win over previously undefeated Mississippi State and a convincing victory at UCLA.

"I don't think we took a step back, but there were a lot of things that we can learn from," Evans said.

"You've got to respect your opponent, even if you're up by 30," Broome said. "You've got to come ready to play. You can't have a letup in the second half."

Travon Harper had 16 points to lead Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-13), which scored the second-fewest points by a Bearcatsopponent this season. The season low is 48 by Richmond on Nov. 21.

Martaveous McKnight also reached double figures for the Golden Lions with 10 points.

"I thought Cincinnati did a great job putting some pressure on us early in the first half," Golden Lions coach George Ivory said. "They're a great basketball team and we wanted to come out here and take a challenge with a team like this that will put on a lot of pressure, great athletes, great coach, so, I just thought it was a good game for us to prepare going into our conference."

The game drew 5,812 fans, the smallest of Cincinnati's six home games this season. The Bearcats are playing home games at Northern Kentucky this season while Fifth Third Arena undergoes an $87 million renovation.

The Bearcats extended their home-court winning streak to 32 games overall, the nation’s longest active streak, and 15 against non-conference opponents.

Cincinnati (10-2) wasted no time taking charge against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, putting together a 24-0 run during a Golden Lions' scoreless drought that last 8:35 in the first half.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff managed only seven shots while turning the ball over 10 times during the scoreless stretch and committed 14 turnovers by halftime, leading to Cincinnati's 23-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Nine different players scored at least two points for the Bearcats during the decisive first half, but 10 players turned the ball over at least once.

"You can't have that," Davis said. "We had some good things -- the assists. We were a good passing team, and we were a good shooting team because we were getting good shots, and that usually means you're passing the ball well."

NOTES: Cincinnati is scheduled to stay home and face Cleveland State on Thursday before breaking for the holidays and not resuming until opening American Athletic Conference play at home against Memphis on New Year’s Eve. ... The Golden Lions have a non-conference game at Tennessee-Martin on Friday. They are playing their first 17 games of the season away from home and aren't due to play their home opener until Jan. 13 against Southern. ... Cincinnati is 4-0 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.