The Cincinnati Bearcats (7-1) were looking to bounce back in the win column after suffering their first loss of the season after falling 84-79 to Xavier on Saturday. The Bearcats know this is a pure definition of a trap game if you ask me, as they were heavy favorites entering this one (21.5 points) per most betting sites. However, with a huge rivalry matchup vs Dayton looming ahead the Bearcats know the importance of this one heading down the back half of non-conference play.
“This group took that loss to Xavier harder than any team I have had taken a loss since I have been here,” Wes Miller said. “They’re pissed. We had one of our best practices of the year yesterday. They practiced their brains out, was probably the best practice since I have been the coach here. They are pissed off, deep down I like that because I am pissed too.”
Final Stats
Aziz Bandaogo finished with his first double-double as a Bearcat after finishing with 12 points, 17 rebounds, which tied a career high while blocking four shots on the night.
Viktor Lakhin finished with just seven points, but finished with 12 rebounds, his third game this season with double-digit rebounds.
A night where the Bearcats saw five players total score in double digits as well as CJ Fredrick led all scorers with 14. John Newman, Jizzle James, Dan Skillings all recorded 11 points, alongside Bandaogo’s 12-point night.
The Bearcats used their size to their advantage after out-rebounding the Bulldogs 57-33, (15-5 offensive rebounds). The Bulldogs Just simply had no answer for keeping the Bearcats off the glass this evening as that was a performance many Bearcats fans were expecting to see with big man Aziz Bandaogo and Viktor Lakhin anchoring the ship.
The Rundown
The Bearcats would come out ice cold as they went zero for their first seven from the field, while Bryant on the other hand was 2-3 as the Bulldogs took an early 5-1 lead over the Bearcats. A Bulldog team that lives and dies by the three ball was looking to change things up and get downhill and attack early as they really looked to find ways to space the floor early. CJ Fredrick would give the Bearcats their first points of the night after burying a three through contact, eventually completing the four-point play.
However, the Bearcats would start just 2-13 from the field before a Jizzle James made jumper gave the Bearcats a 11-10 lead, their first lead of the night. Bryant on the other hand saw leading scorer Earl Timberlake pick up his second foul with twelve minutes remaining in the first half, forcing Bryant to their bench a lot earlier than expected.
Bryant would look to relay on Sherif Gross-Bullock with Timberlake on the bench, as the Bulldogs leading scorer would bury his first three-point attempt of the night to make this a 19-17 game with 7:59 remaining. Bryant would be quickly forced to put Timberlake back in despite the two early fouls after Bryant guard Miles Latimer went down after appearing to roll his right ankle after stepping on Jizzle James ankle.
The Bulldogs would look to hang around though after Connor Withers would find his groove offensively after scoring six straight, all from behind the three-point line to make this a 21-20 game. The Bearcats would respond with some huge momentum following five quick points from CJ Fredrick, which was the first field goal for the Bearcats in over five minutes of action.
The Bearcats were getting quality looks, but nothing was dropping, as they shot just 7-30 (23%) from the field in the first 15 minutes of play. Bryant on the other hand wasn’t much better as they shot just 9-27 (33%). The Bearcats would go through a stretch late in the first have where they’d shoot just 2-15 from the floor. Simas Lukosius would provide a huge spark late in the first half after finding a wide-open Viktor Lakhin for the easy finish.
The Bearcats held a 30-27 lead at the half despite a very poor offensive performance on both ends in the first half as the Bearcats finished shooting just 26% from the field, (9-35). The Bearcats continued to struggle from behind the arch as well after shooting just shooting 2-11, (18%) in the first half from behind the arch. Both teams struggled to keep the ball in their possession after a first half that consisted of 19 turnovers in what seemed to be a back-and-forth track meet in the first half.
A good takeaway though was the Bearcats dominated the glass after out-rebounding the Bulldogs 33-21 (11-3 OREB) in the first half, led by Viktor Lakhin(10), and Aziz Bandaogo (7). CJ Fredrick led the Bearcats with 9 points as the senior looked to bounce back after an off-game vs Xavier. The Bearcats on the other hand would need to clean a lot up here in the second half if they wanted to build some sort of momentum heading into Saturday’s contest vs Dayton.
Viktor Lakhin would come out and score the first four points of the half for the Bearcats, as Wes Miller was looking to get the seven-footer going after just three first half points. For Bryant though, Conner Withers continued to shoot the lights out here at Fifth Third Arean as he had the Bulldogs first five points of the second half.
The Bearcats would extend their lead to 42-34 after Fredrick buried one home all the way from Calhoun Street. The shots started to fall for the Bearcats as they made four of their first field goal attempts to start the second half. Simas Lukosius gave the Bearcats their biggest lead of the night after burying a made three points shot to give the Bearcats a 47-38 lead with 14:00 minutes remaining.
However, the Bearcats continued to dominate the glass as they out-rebounded the Bulldogs by nearly 20, but the Bulldogs were still hanging around here at fifth Third Arena. Day-Day Thomas would convert the three-point play to give the Bearcats a 54-45 lead with just over eight minutes remaining. However, Bryant started getting hot from behind the arch, which is something they have shown through the first eleven games of the season, that when they get hot from deep, they are capable of hanging around and staying in games.
Day-Day Thomas would bury his first triple of the night, that would extend the Bearcats led to double-digits. The Bearcats would get a huge four-point momentum swing following a foul inside on Aziz Bandaogo, resulted in four free throws for the Bearcats after Conner Withers tried to plead his case with the referee, resulting in a technical foul.
Aziz Bandaogo defensive performance tonight in the second half is what set the tone for the Bearcats. The seven-footer came away with two huge blocks late in the second half, allowing the Bearcats to get out and run, and Bryant was simply lost from there as the Bearcats quickly extended their lead to 18. The Momentum quickly changed after Withers received that technical foul, and the Bearcats quickly turned it up a few levels and poured it on the Bulldogs late in the second half.
The Bearcats finished this one out on a 18-1 run as they down Bryant 85-53 to improve to 8-1 on the season. Aziz Bandaogo completely changed the game for the Bearcats in the second half and you could instantly feel that in Fifth Third Arena tonight. Despite an ugly first half, the Bearcats avoided the potential of a trap game and come home victorious.
Up Next
The Bearcats now improve to 8-1 on the season, but they quickly turn their focus ahead to Saturday’s rivalry match vs Dayton (6-2). A game that will take place at a neutral site in Heritage Bank Arena with tip-off slated for 7 pm.
