o believes Red Bull can put pressure on the Silver Arrows duo in both qualifying and the race

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- No. 24 Cincinnati got back into the paint Sunday and back into the win column.Kyle Washington had 16 points and 17 rebounds and the Bearcats beat Penn State 71-50 in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.Jacob Evans added 14 points for Cincinnati (3-1), which bounced back from a loss to No. 21 Rhode Island on Saturday by dominating the Nittany Lions.Cincinnati shot 50 percent for the game (30 for 60) doing much of their damage in the lane, where they had a 34-18 scoring advantage.We had some talks (last night), said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin. You try to win with jump shots, youre not going to make the NCAA tournament. We understand how to make it. Youve got to play defense, got to rebound and youve got to do it with toughness.Shep Garner had 20 points to lead Penn State (2-3), after scoring 15 in the teams 10-point loss Saturday to top-ranked Duke.This one wasnt nearly as competitive.The Bearcats put the game away early, using an 18-1 run to build a 32-10 advantage.Washington, a North Carolina State transfer, had 10 of his points and seven rebounds in the first half when the Bearcats shot 59 percent from the field, getting inside almost at will. They went into halftime leading 34-19.We have to be focused on playing as a unit, Washington said. Im not saying it because it sounds good, but we have to keep on working.Cincinnati outrebounded Penn State 40-26, including 10-3 on the offensive boards.We just decided if we really wanted to win and be a great team, we were going to have to buy in and do what Coach has been telling us, Evans said. Weve got to play defense, rebound and play with toughness. We finally bought into that and it showed today.BIG PICTURECincinnati: The Bearcats were defeated at their own game of aggressiveness and hustle in the loss to Rhode Island . The Rams won the rebounding battle by nine and had 16 offensive boards. We got away from our identity in the second half yesterday, Cronin said. I know theyd rather have played today than dealt with me in practice. Lets just be honest.... Senior guard Troy Caupain, the American Athletic Conferences preseason player of the year, averaged 10 points, five rebounds and 5.3 assists in his first three games. He had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists on Sunday.Penn State: Coach Patrick Chambers came to Mohegan Sun looking for progress. He felt the 78-68 loss to No. 1 Duke on Saturday qualified as a step forward . And Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski gave the Nittany Lions high praise. That was a good win for us against a program thats emerging, he said.Sundays effort was a step back, but coach Patrick Chambers said that will happen with a young team that starts three freshmen.I was wary going into this game after playing and competing so hard yesterday and having such a quick team and playing an older team, we really didnt respond in that first four to eight minutes, he said.POLL IMPLICATIONSCincinnati likely will fall from the Top 25 after Saturdays loss to No. 21 Rhode Island, despite the strong bounce-back effort against the Nittany Lions.UP NEXTCincinnati: After the weekend trip to Connecticut, the Bearcats return home to play Samford Wednesday night. Cincinnatis next big test comes Dec. 1 at Iowa State.Penn State: Colgate visits Happy Valley on Wednesday. After Thanksgiving, Penn State travels to George Washington on Saturday. Danny Ainge Celtics Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Reggie Lewis Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Robert-Parish-Jersey/ . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Bob Cousy Celtics Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Marcus Smart Jersey . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Daniel Ricciardo says he is confident his Red Bull team can challenge Mercedes in Sundays Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.Mercedes topped the timesheets in both practice sessions on Friday, with pacesetter Lewis Hamilton over 0.5s clear of both Max Verstappen and Ricciardo in fourth and fifth respectively during FP2. Although Mercedes appears to be in control of proceedings at this stage of the weekend, Ricciardo believes Red Bull can put pressure on the Silver Arrows duo in both qualifying and the race.If we put it all together tomorrow we are more or less there, the Australian said. Vettel put in a quick time. I think we will find that little tomorrow, and it will be a good fight for third place. Mercedes as expected are ahead. But I dont think they are miles ahead. Looking at today, maybe we could still race them on Sunday.On one lap we can still find a few tenths, maybe everyone else can as well, but I am confident that we can make a small step from where we were today. The long run today was good, and on the long run we can also find a little bit.The race sim looked promising this morning, and this afteernoon we seemed to be competitive enough.dddddddddddd We can still make the car better, so I am confident going into tomorrow we can be strong. But even more confident going into Sunday.Nico Rosberg heads into the weekend with a 12-point championship lead, and knows he only has to finish in the top three to secure his maiden Formula One title, regardless of where teammate Hamilton comes.When asked whether he believes Rosberg was taking it easy on Friday in order to save his engine, Ricciardo replied: Yeah, it is a dangerous circuit around here, lots of walls and stuff! No, I dont see any reason to hold back in practice. If it is Monaco I understand maybe you want to be careful with your equipment.But here you can definitely push and go on the limit, so we will see tomorrow. Maybe he is holding back a bit, not showing Lewis too much, but it is going to be interesting. Everyone predicts Lewis to take the pole, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out tomorrow. ' ' '