Tonight, the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-5, 1-1 AAC) traveled to Wichita, Kansas to take on the Wichita State Shockers (7-7, 0-2 AAC) as they hoped to rebound after a 70-61 loss to Temple on Sunday. The Bearcats would look to throw the Shockers off balance early as Wes Miller made a change to his starting lineup, as Ody Oguama made his first career start in place of Jeremiah Davenport.
The Bearcats would take a huge 8-4 lead in the opening minutes behind eight quick points from Landers Nolley, who started this game 3-4 from the field and was poised to do some damage vs a foe he is very familiar with. The Bearcats were looking to push the pace early despite Nolley making an immediate impact early, Davenport would come off the bench and score a quick nine points in as many minutes as the Bearcats lead 24-16 with eight minutes remining in the first half.
The Bearcats would turn it on from behind the arch as they hit seven of their first 11 threes to start this contest as they were looking to set the tone tonight as they shot nearly 50% from the field in the first 12 minutes. Ody Oguama was making his presence known early in his first career start as the senior was making a huge impact on the defensive end around the rim as he registered two blocks late in the first half and continued to shine in his opportunity.
The story of the first half was Jeremiah Davenport as he came off the bench and fired off 13 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting as the Bearcats led the Shockers 33-20 with 3:40 left in the first half. Wes Miller has been mentioning how the team would have to win the battle on the glass, which could’ve played a role into Oguama getting the start tonight. The Bearcats would do just that as they held a 20-12 advantage through the first half as Nolley, Oguama and Lakhin combined for 13 of those 20 boards.
The Bearcats would take a 39-22 lead heading into the break after an ugly final segment of the first half forced Wes Milelr to call a timeout to recoup. The Bearcats would finish the first half shooting 38% from the field, while they held the Shockers to just 26% as Craig Porter was the only source of offense the Shockers had in the first 20 minutes as he had 11. The Bearcats would dominate the glass 25-15, and i think it all started with the play of Ody Oguama, as he really impacted this game on the defensive end as he grabbed five rebounds in his first start as him and Viktor Lakhin were complimenting each other very well.
Davenport, would finish the first half with 13 points on 5-8 shooting and provided a huge spark off the bench. Landers Nolley would rattle off eight of the team’s first eleven points, but then would be held pretty quietly the rest of the half as he had eight points and six rebounds in the first half for the Bearcats after setting the tone early.
