CINCINNATI -- Jarron Cumberland didn't score more than four points in seven of his first nine games for 25th-ranked Cincinnati. On Tuesday night, the freshman guard came off the bench and responded with the best game of his career.

Cumberland scored a career-high 18 points, and Gary Clark added 13 points and tied a career high with six assists, lifting the Bearcats to a 96-58 victory over Texas Southern at Fifth Third Arena.

Cumberland went 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the second half after going scoreless before halftime.

"I hope (Cumberland) uses this game as motivation that he could do it any time," said Tre Scott, who scored 11 points for the Bearcats. "I could see him in games not trying to score. He came out of his shell tonight."

Behind Cumberland, Cincinnati (8-2) shot 69.7 percent in the second half to rebound from a Saturday loss at No. 18 Butler that snapped a five-game losing streak.

The Bearcats had 26 assists to just three turnovers on Tuesday night.

"That's kind of unheard of," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "(The Butler loss) is a distant memory. Even when you win, you have to improve."

The Bearcats' leading scorer, Kevin Washington, did not start Tuesday, but he finished with eight points. The junior forward was coming off a rough game at Butler, where he had seven points and no rebounds before fouling out.

"I make decisions based off practice," Cronin said.

Texas Southern freshman guard Demontrae Jefferson, who made his debut on Saturday at Louisville and scored 27 points on 10-of-30 shooting, scored 13 points to lead the Tigers on Tuesday.

Texas Southern (4-6) tried to make a game of it early on.

Derrick Griffin's dunk off a lob from Dulani Robinson tied the score 6-6. Jefferson hit a 3-pointer to give Texas Southern a brief 9-8 lead.

A pair of Clark free throws put Cincinnati ahead 16-11, while Texas Southern was just shooting just 5 of 22. The Bearcats held the visitors to 30.4 percent shooting for the game.

"They played us like we were a real team," Tigers coach Mike Davis said. "We had a lot of problems with the matchup. We played too slow, and they were just very good."

Jefferson's lob off the backboard to Griffin for a two-hand dunk sent a buzz through the crowd. Griffin scored eight points before fouling out with seven minutes left.

Jefferson had three turnovers and five assists.

"We just tried to stay in front and slow down the penetration to keep Jefferson out of the lane," said Bearcats guard Kevin Johnson, who contributed 10 points.

Texas Southern had a 25-21 rebounding advantage in the first half. However, that didn't last and the Tigers couldn't shoot well enough to hang with the Bearcats. Cincinnati wound up with a 44-37 edge on the glass.

A 3-pointer by Jacob Evans gave Cincinnati its largest lead to that point, 25-15. The Bearcats were on top 37-23 at halftime with Clark scoring eight points and Evans seven.

Evans exited the game with 18:24 left after taking a shot to the face, but he returned moments later after being evaluated. He finished with 10 points as the Bearcats had five players in double figures.

Cumberland hit the first of his four 3-pointers to put Cincinnati ahead 47-28, and the rout was on.

"I've been on him to be aggressive," Cronin said. "He was comfortable tonight. I knew he was going to show eventually that he can play."

NOTES: Bearcats F Quadri Moore made his first career start, and he scored four points. ... Cincinnati F Gary Clark became the fourth player during coach Mick Cronin's tenure to have at least 600 rebounds. ... The Bearcats lead the all-time series 4-0 and now are 15-0 against Southwestern Athletic Conference opponents. ... Cincinnati won its 14th consecutive game at Fifth Third Arena dating to a 77-70 loss to Temple on Dec. 29, 2015. ... Texas Southern won't play a home game until Jan. 14. By then, the Tigers will have faced No. 19 Arizona, No. 11 Louisville, No. 25 Cincinnati, LSU, TCU and No. 4 Baylor, all on the road.