For hosting University of Cincinnati basketball last season at BB&T Arena, Northern Kentucky University picked up a pair of home-and-home agreements from the Bearcats.

In the first installment, UC used their rebounding and free throw shooting to defeat the Norse 78-65 in front of 11,218 at Fifth Third Arena.

Five Bearcats hit in double figures led by Trevon Scott with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jarron Cumberland had 12 points and 5 assists and Keith Williams, Justin Jenifer and Nysier Brooks each finished with 10 points.

The Bearcats outrebounded the Norse 39-31 and held NKU top scorer Drew McDonald to eight points,11 below his average. NKU committed 23 fouls to UC's 12 with the Bearcats having a good night at the free throw line at 26-for-33 for 78.8 percent. The Norse shot just 6-for-15 from the line for 40 percent.

More:Northern Kentucky loses 78-65 at UC, drops to 8-2

"I thought (assistant) Darren Savino did a great job tonight drawing up the game plan," UC coach Mick Cronin said. "Offensively, for their physicality trying to draw fouls was the game plan against their man-to-man. His game plan against Drew McDonald, giving him as many looks as we can, he's never 3-for-15. I don't know if he's ever had that field goal percentage in his career."

Brimming with confidence, redshirt junior Scott was all smiles after a career-high 22 points and his 10 rebounds matched a career high.

"I'm always confident," Scott said. "It was just another game. My teammates did a great job of giving me the ball and putting me in great position to score and get fouled. It was just my night tonight I guess."

The 6-foor-8 forward was a major part of UC's success at the free throw line hitting 12 of 13. Afterward, he credited Mick Cronin's father, Hep, for his accuracy.

"He worked with me on it in practice every day," Scott said. "It was just a confidence thing. I stepped up there and I made them."

Added Cronin, "He sits over there and yells at him if his elbow's not above his eye. Of course, my Dad doesn't realize the 70,000 videos I've shown Tre of the same thing. Will give Pops the credit."

From the field, the Bearcats shot 46.2 percent to NKU's 40. Tyler Sharpe led the Norse with 16 points.

The Norse came into the game with just one loss, to Central Florida with 7-6 Tacko Fall on Nov. 24. NKU senior McDonald came in averaging 19 points per game and 9.8 rebounds but was held scoreless in the first half on seven shot attempts. After missing two close bank shots near the halftime buzzer he was visibly dejected.

"Our plan was not to let him catch it on the post," Scott said. "We executed that and took them out of the game."

Scott led UC in the first half with 14 points and 8 rebounds. The Norse led for a little over three minutes of the first half, but in the game's eighth minute Jarron Cumberland broke a tie with his first bucket. An Eliel Nsoseme putback followed then a fast break where Cane Broome missed the bunny, but Keith Williams was right behind him for the dunk.

UC would lead the rest of the way and by as much as 20 in the game's final minutes.

The Norse were plagued by 13 first-half fouls to UC's five. The Bearcats took advantage of it by going 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. The Bearcats also had a massive advantage on the boards at 28-12.

The foul and rebound disparity continued in the second half. The Bearcats went to the line 15 more times to NKU's 10. NKU coach John Brannen took note early in the second half and was assessed with a technical for his thoughts.

"I asked a question and got a technical foul," Brannen said. "I thought it was a bit of arrogance on the other side of the court (referees) the way I was treated this evening."

The Norse drop to 8-2 and are at Eastern Kentucky Saturday night. UC is 8-1 and hosts the Xavier Musketeers Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.

"We're just looking for the win on Saturday," Justin Jenifer said. "We treat this game like we treat every other game. We got this win and now we're going to look forward to winning on Saturday."

Jenifer celebrated his 23rd birthday Tuesday with a perfect night shooting (3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 on free throws). A win Saturday might be icing on the cake.

Chicago Legends

The Bearcats announced Tuesday their participation in the 2019 Chicago Legends Event at the United Center. UC will battle Iowa as part of a doubleheader which also features Dayton against Colorado.

"It's been a few years since we last played in Chicago and playing Iowa at the United Center should give our alumni and fans a great chance to see the Bearcats in a world-class venue in a phenomenal city," UC coach Cronin said.

UC's last game in Chicago was a 75-70 win over DePaul Jan. 15, 2013. Covington Catholic product CJ Fredrick is a member of the Hawkeyes.

It's not hoops, but he is from Northern Kentucky

Former UC quarterback Gino Guidugli actually was a decent high school basketball player for Highlands High School back in the day. Now, as quarterbacks coach for Luke Fickell, he's earned some recognition that will take place after UC's trip to the Military Bowl to play Virginia Tech.

Guidugli was selected to participate in the 2019 American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. The Bearcats Hall of Famer mentored redshirt freshman quarterback Desmond Ridder who started 11 games, completed 62.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,359 yards, 19 TDs and adding another 574 yards rushing along with five more scores and was named American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.

The AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute is a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession. The event takes place Jan. 6 at the AFCA convention in San Antonio.