The Cincinnati Bearcats reopened the newly renovated Fifth Third Arena on a cold Wednesday night against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Former Bearcat greats such as Kenyon Martin and Reuben Patterson were in the building just to name a few, it was a great atmosphere. This game has been marked on the fans calendars since it has been announced and we finally got the interstate clash that has been decades in the making.
The first half was rough for both teams especially the Bearcats. Guard Jarron Cumberland only played four minutes in the first half because of the two quick fouls he picked up. With no Cumberland on the floor the home team only shot a whopping 13.8% from the field and scored 18 points. The Buckeyes only shot 33.3% from the field, but it was enough to carry a nine point lead into the half. Nobody on either team had double digits scoring just tells you the battle that was going on in the first twenty minutes. Each team took care of the ball well as the Buckeyes only had four turnovers and the Bearcats had six.
In the second half it seemed that Wednesday just wasn’t their day until insertion of life was made by freshman point guard Logan Johnson he helped get the lead to single digits with his energy on the defensive end causing an offensive foul and getting a steal. At the mid point of the second half riding this wave a turnover by Cumberland, followed by a missed three by Justin Jenifer and then Eliel Nsoseme missing a front end of a 1 and 1. After that sequence the Buckeyes went on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 14 Kaleb Wesson hit two free throws and Kyle Young got an and 1. The Bearcats got the lead down to as close as four points, but they couldn’t make the play that would get them fully back in the game after Cumberland hit a three to get it down to four C.J. Jackson made a layup with the clock ticking down to get the Buckeyes lead back up to six points. The Buckeyes ended up winning 64-56 and spoiling the home opener for the Bearcats.
The Buckeyes had four scorers in double digits (Wesson 15 team high, Jackson 13, Luther Muhammad 11 and Young 10). The Bearcats only had one scorer in double digits and that was Cumberland with 22 points.
The Bearcats won the rebounding battle 39-33 and got 15 more shots than the Buckeyes, but they only shot 27.4% from the field and that isn’t going to beat many teams. In turn the Buckeyes shot 42.6% from the field.
The Bearcats are 0-1 and don’t have a game until Tuesday when they will face North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena.
