CINCINNATI (Interstat) — The Cincinnati Bearcats opened their season with a dominant 94-63 men’s basketball victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts on Monday night at Fifth Third Arena. A strong first-half performance, where they scored 49 points, propelled the Bearcats past the 20.5-point spread in front of a crowd of 9,126. Baba Miller and Moustapha Thiam each scored 18 points to lead a balanced Cincinnati offense, with Miller adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. The Catamounts, who began their season 0-1, were led by 28 first-half points but could not keep pace. The total score of 157 easily surpassed the over/under line of 142.