Cincinnati- Tonight, the Bearcats (16-9) (6-6 AAC) welcomed in the Wichita State Shockers (13-9) (4-6) to Fifth Third Arena for game 2 of a 3 game home stand. The Bearcats were looking to bounce back in the win column after back to back loses vs Tulsa and Memphis to start the week. The Bearcats got big news however, as graduate forward/ Center Abdul Ado was back in action after missing the Bearcats game vs Memphis on Tuesday with an ankle injury suffered vs USF.
Starters for the Bearcats– John Newman, Abdul Ado, Jeremiah Davenport, David DeJulius, Mika Adams-Woods.
Starters for the Shockers- Tyson Ettienne, Dennis Dexter, Craig Porter Jr, Morris Udeze, Joe Pleasant.
How it Happened- The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead over the Shockers after a contested three late in the shot clock by Jeremiah Davenport, followed by an Ado layup. The Bearcats got out to a big start where they led the Shockers 15-7 at the under 16 media timeouts, as Mika Adams-Woods led the way with five points, as the Bearcats seemed to find their grove early as they started the game shooting 71%/75%/100% from the field. The Bearcats were finding their shots and getting everyone involved early after guards John Newman and Mike Saunders, Jr. rattled off a quick 11 points to give the Bearcats a 23-10 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Bearcats were hot to start the game as they shot 75% from the field, 83% from deep to start the game, as five Bearcats knocked down a triple in the opening minutes. The Shockers had no answer for the Bearcats, as the Bearcats couldn’t miss early here at Fifth Third Arena as they were looking to make a statement here early. The Bearcats knocked down 7 of 8 from deep to start the game, after back-to-back threes from Madsen and Davenport, forced the Shockers to take a timeout after trailing 32-11.
The Shockers quietly responded with a 12-0 run over a span of 5 minutes to cut the Bearcats 21-point deficit to 9 with 6 minutes left in the first half, as the Shockers were looking to find a way to get Tyson Ettiene the 2021 AAC Co-Player of the Year, was held scoreless for the first 15 minutes of play. The final 10 minutes of the first half was all Wichita State, as the Shockers went on a 12-1 run to slowly erase the Bearcats 21 point lead, as they cut the led to 3 with 1 minute remaining in the first half. The Bearcats got a big basket to end the half from David DeJulius as he hit a floater in the final seconds to give the Bearcats a 42-35 lead at the break.
The Bearcats saw arguably the best 10 minutes to start a game, all season as they were up 21 over the Shockers early before the Shockers started to settle down and find a way to crawl back into this one, especially after the way it looked to be going early. The Bearcats were led by John Newman, Jeremiah Davenport and David DeJulius who each scored six points in the first half. The Bearcats shot 54% from the field, but also got off to a great start from deep where they shot 70% to start this one, after knocking down 7-of-8 to start the game.
The Shockers came out and cut the deficit to 4, before the Bearcats rattled off a 7 point run to take a 51-40 lead at the under 16 media break, after a quick four points from Ody Oguama. The Bearcats jumped back to a 56-45 lead after the Shockers tried to switch some things up defensively to start the half, by showing some zone defense but quickly switched back to man, after the Bearcats attacked the zone and found ways to attack the rim.
The Shockers would try to fight back, but the Bearcats continued to pour it on them late as they continued to find a way to the rack as the Bearcats were dominating the paint. The Bearcats also were shooting the deep ball at 60% compared to the shockers 0% with 8 minutes left, which the Bearcats were knocking down the open shots tonight, and the deep ball was a problem for the Shockers all night.
The big note of the second half was Shockers guard Tyson Ettiene who appeared to have rolled his left ankle early in the second half, after having it looked at the first time by the Shocker medical staff, he returned just a short time later, but Ettiene had that ankle looked at with about 8 minutes remaining where the Shocker medical staff wrapped that ankle, but after testing it out, he wasn’t able to return to the game as the Shockers were looking to make a run down the stretch, and without the 2021 AAC Co-Player of the Year and leading scorer, could be tough. Ettiene did check back in for the final 4 minutes, and the Shockers immediately went to pushing the tempo, before the Bearcats responded with a quick five points to put this one away it seemed.
The Bearcats would hold on to win this one 81-73, as they were able to push away late after the Shockers erased a 21-point lead. The Bearcats were led by David DeJulius who finished with a game high 17 points, on 5-of-8 shooting. Mika Adams-Woods finished with 15 points. six rebounds and three assists. John Newman recorded 13 points and was a huge part of the Bearcats success tonight defensively. Overall, the Bearcats had one of their best starts all season, after a 21-point lead halfway through the first half, they shot a season high 55% from the field, as season high from deep as well where the Bearcats shot 58%. The big thing to keep an eye on, looking ahead to the Bearcats next game Sunday when they take on Temple, is John Newman who appeared to roll his ankle after a big dunk late in the game.
“John rolled the ankle, my guess is it could be awhile, I’m down about that, tonight was the best he played all year. You never know with ankle sprains, he was struggling to put some pressure on it after the game,” said Wes Miller postgame.
The Bearcats will be back in action this Sunday when they welcome Temple to Fifth Third Arena as they look to make it consecutive wins down the stretch.
