BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins knows the offense will come. That's why he likes to see a scrambling, aggressive defense create turnovers and force opponents into submission.

Pete Mickeal scored 23 points and DerMarr Johnson had 14 as the third-ranked Bearcats beat overmatched Boise State 78-46 Thursday night in a game that wasn't as close as the final score.

The Broncos (5-4) lost for the first time in five home games because they couldn't match up with the quicker Bearcats (11-1). And Boise State shot 34 percent (17-of-50) against Cincinnati's speedy and spidery defense.

It was no surprise the Bearcats were more athletic. Nor was it a surprise that Huggins wanted a fullcourt game.

"We created more things with our defense in transition," Huggins said. "It's hard when your guys are running down the floor to get set up in any kind of decent defense. If we come down and play halfcourt, it's a heck of a game."

After all, the Bearcats usually enjoy a more athletic lineup.

"They took us out of the game in the first minute, and our hat's off to them," Broncos coach Rod Jensen said.

Steve Logan scored 11 points and Kenny Satterfield had 10 for the Bearcats.

Justin Lyons led Boise State with 12 points while Abe Jackson scored 11.

This one was much easier than Cincinnati's trip to Boise in 1998 for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. After grinding out a 65-62 victory over Northern Arizona, the Bearcats lost 75-74 to West Virginia on a buzzer-beater.

"That was an extremely different deal," Huggins said.

This time, it was a pleasure trip.

Cincinnati players laughed during introductions, apparently amused by the off-color phrases aimed at them by the Boise State student section. But those smirking fans later cheered a second-half Cincinnati dunk show.

Johnson opened the game with two 3-pointers and Mickeal drove the lane to give the Bearcats an 8-0 lead. Cincinnati's fullcourt press forced a series of easy baskets.

"The only chance we would have had tonight is if the Pavillion was really rocking," Jensen said. "And what do they do? They come out and score the first eight points."

After Lyons' spinning layup cut Cincinnati's lead to 10-7 four minutes in, the Bearcats used a 14-4 run over the next 4:02. Part of that burst included a stretch where the Broncos went scoreless for 5½ minutes.

At the 10-minute mark, scrappy but sloppy Boise State had committed eight of its 12 first-half turnovers.

"Some teams we play, you make a mistake and it costs you a basket," Jensen said. "You make a mistake with these guys and it costs you three baskets."

The Broncos pulled within 29-18 after Clint Hordemann hit a 3-pointer 3:43 before halftime. Satterfield scored twice to spark a 8-4 burst through the rest of the first half, and the Bearcats led 37-22 at halftime.

Still, the raucous cheering continued as a near-capacity crowd of 11,519 maintained the high from Boise State's 34-31 victory over Louisville in the Humanitarian Bowl earlier in the day.

In fact, the loudest cheers of the night came at halftime when football coach Dirk Koetter showed off the bowl game trophy.

Although the Bearcats shot 57 percent (31-of-54), it wasn't a perfect game for Cincinnati.

Kenyon Martin, averaging 17.3 points a game coming in, finished with eight points after missing 17 minutes of the first half with three fouls. He didn't score until dunking with 14:58 left in the game.

"We had to play a lot more guys," Huggins said. "DerMarr got in foul trouble, Kenyon got in foul trouble, and we needed to get some guys more minutes."