Tonight, the Bearcats improved to 9-2 on the season following their victory over Merrimack. The Bearcats were coming off their roughest stretch of the season to date following their losses to Xavier and Dayton last week. The Bearcats knew they had to find their identify and find it quickly as they head into the final games of non-conference play over the next two weeks.
The Warriors caused a lot of trouble for the Bearcats tonight as they scored the lowest number of points in the 2023-2024 season to date after defeating the Warriors 65-49. However, the Warriors were able to force 18 turnovers tonight, but just couldn’t convert on the other end following the turnovers. The Bearcats on the other hand, forced 19 turnovers and were able to outscore the Warriors 28-4 off those turnovers.
Viktor Lakhin rebounded very nicely after struggling vs Dayton and Bryant last week, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds on (8-14 FG). The big man was able to utilize his size and dominate the paint and play to his advantage around the rim. A very nice confidence booster for Lakhin after being held to just 11 points over the last two games, to come back with 18 tonight, and really be efficient on both ends of the floor. The Bearcats were able to dominate the glass and use their advantage as they outrebounded a very small Merrimack team 45-25 on the night led by Jamille Reynolds who had a game high 11 rebounds.
Simas Lukosius has started to find his groove over the last two games after consecutive double-digit performances. I thought Lukoisus had his most efficient game of the season finishing with 11 points on 3-4 shooting, (3-3 from deep). You can feel that Lukosius is starting to find his momentum again since overcoming the injuries following the Howard game.
The Bearcats handled business without to key starters in Aziz Bandaogo and CJ Fredrick as both were unavailable tonight for the Bearcats tonight after sustaining minor injuries in the loss to Dayton over the weekend.
The Rundown
The Bearcats would get off to a sloppy start after three turnovers on their first four possessions of the game as the Merrimack 1-3-1 defense caused some early troubles. Once the Bearcats got settled in they went on to make four of their first five shots to open the game following six quick points from Viktor Lakhin. The Bearcats took an early 10-4 lead with 14:49 remaining as Merrimack was really struggling with the Bearcats size early.
The Warriors really struggled with the Bearcats size advantage early as Viktor Lakhin was living rent free in the paint as the seven-footer had six of the Bearcats ten points in the opening segment. The Bearcats size continued to cause problems for the Warriors early as they went on to make just 1 for their last 10 attempts before Jordan Durkack stopped the bleeding for the Warriors on the offensive end.
The Bearcats took a commanding 15-4 lead following a 10-0 run, after Josh Reed knocked down a wide open three from the top of the key. The Bearcats just continued to pour it on the Warriors as they were using their size to advantage after huge dunks from Newman, Reynolds gave the Bearcats some huge momentum here in the first half.
The Bearcats would continue to stand tall on the defensive end as they made it difficult for the Warriors to get anything going in the opening 15 minutes of play as they shot just 4-18 (22%) to start the game. Jizzle James would make an immediate impact on the defensive end as a quick steal led to the Bearcats getting out in space and running where he found a high-flying Ody Oguama for the posterizing dunk to give the Bearcats a 23-9 lead with 6:49 left in the first half.
Jamille Reynolds would complement Lakhin very well inside despite playing just seven minutes in the loss to Dayton, you could easily see why fans were super excited for him to be eligible this season. Reynolds, was looking very explosive and quick in the paint which was something the coaching staff raved about this offseason and gave a huge praise for the work he did this offseason with strength and conditioning coach Mike Rehfeldt, who transformed Reynolds body this offseason and you can see the results paying off early.
The Bearcats would take a 27-17 lead at the half led by Viktor Lakhin who had eight points on 4-5 shooting in the first half. Jamille Reynolds dominated in the first half as the seven-footer finished with five points and six rebounds in just ten minutes of action. The Bearcats continued to dominate the paint and use their size to their advantage as 18 of those 27 first half points came in the paint.
Meanwhile, the Bearcats struggled to maintain their composure on the offensive side of things as they turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, which vs a team like Merrimack you simply have to protect the ball or things could get ugly. Eleven turnovers in the first half vs this Merrimack team is just simply unacceptable, but on the other hand the Warriors had ten of their own, where Cincinnati turned it into 13 points on the other end.
Despite the turnovers the Bearcats finished the first half shooting 46% from the field, while Merrimack really struggled shooting just 26%. Wes Miller and the Bearcats dominated the glass as expected as they outrebounded the Warriors 22-12 in the first half but there were defiantly opportunities, they missed early in the first half that could have boosted that number. The Bearcats needed to find some spark on the offensive end as the Merrimack zone continued to give the Bearcats problems as they score just 27 points in the first half, their lowest first half total of the season.
Ody Oguama would give the Bearcats their first points of the second half, which ended a six-minute scoring drought going back to the first half. Simas Lukosius would bury his second three of the night that would give the Bearcats a 35-21 lead with 17 minutes left. Lukosius was looking to build off a solid ending to his Dayton game where he led the Bearcats with 14 points.
The Bearcats started to pull away after Dan Skillings cleaned up the glass for the easy putback that gave the Bearcats their first double digit lead since early in the first half. The Bearcats started the second half making six of their first seven field goal attempts sparking a 7-0 run following a Skillings steal and slam on the other end giving the Bearcats a 43-26 lead with 14:47 left in the second half.
The Warriors were just struggling to get anything going on offensive as Jordan Derkack had 11 of the Warriors 26 points on 4-6 shooting. The rest of the Warriors on the other hand shot just 6 for 28 from the field as Derkack was doing all he could for the Warriors. However, the Bearcats just couldn’t find a way to get over the hump and really open the floodgates open here tonight at Fifth Third Arena.
The Warriors would hold the Bearcats to just six points across an eight-minute span roughly that sparked a 10-2 run on the other end, cutting the Bearcats lead to single digits. During that run the Bearcats went 1 for eight of the field, including seven straight misses and you could sense the Warriors starting to pick up steam as the momentum quickly favored the Warriors. Jordan Durkack was doing everything he could to keep the Warriors in this one after cutting the Bearcats lead to seven, trailing 49-42 with 5:30 remaining.
The Bearcats would respond to the Warriors 12-2 run, with a seven-zero run from Day-Day Thomas that would extend the Bearcats lead to 12. However, there was a lot of time left as the Bearcats continued to struggle tonight vs a very poor Merrimack team, that entered this one as one of the worst teams in all of college basketball according to Kenpom.
The Bearcats would open the floodgates on this one in the final four minutes after a 14-2 run forces a Merrimack timeout after Simas Lukosius buried home his third triple of the night, giving the Bearcats a 63-44 lead with ninety seconds remaining here at Fifth third Arena. The Bearcats would hold on as they held the Warriors to just 49 points on just 34% shooting.
Up Next
The Bearcats (9-2) will be back in action this Friday as they welcome Stetson (7-5) to Fifth Third Arena. Tip off for that game is slated for 7pm.
