Tonight the (3-0) Bearcats welcomed Presbyterian (2-1) to Fifth Third Arena, as the Bearcats were looking to get off to a quick 4-0 start after a victory over Alabama A&M gave the Bearcats their first 3-0 start since 2017. The Wes Miller era was looking to keep the ball rolling after a hot start with wins over Evansville, Georgia and Alabama A&M to kick off the season under coach Miller.
The Bearcats received some good news as forward Viktor Lakhin was expected to play after missing Tuesday’s game versus Alabama A&M due to an ankle sprain suffered before the Georgia game. However, sophomore guard AJ McGinnis was not available after injuring his left ankle in Tuesday nights victory over Alabama A&M.
Wes Miller is rocking with the same starting lineup from the first three games as the starters for tonight’s contest were Abdul Ado, David DeJulius, John Newman, Mika Adams-Woods and Jeremiah Davenport.
Presbyterian got the first points in tonight’s game after Winston Hill hit a quick jumper to give Presbyterian a 2-0 lead to start it off, but Jeremiah Davenport followed right back with a 3 pointer to give the Bearcats an early 3-2 lead. This was shaping up to be a pretty physical game early as Presbyterian really went with a bigger lineup to start, and they were playing very physical on and off the ball early. The Bearcats were really utilizing Ody Oguama in the paint, as he drew three quick fouls, causing a lot of problems early and was really effective crashing the boards early to extend possessions for the Bearcats. The Bearcats really got momentum going after a steal by Mika Adams-Woods lead to a beautiful assist from David DeJulius to a trailing Hayden Kovel in transition for a big time dunk. The Bearcats came right back with a Davenport three his second of the game, giving the Bearcats a 12-6 lead heading into the under 12 media timeout.
The Bearcats took a big 22-3 run, as everything was favoring the Bearcats. The Bearcats got a big and-1 from David DeJulius to give the Bearcats a big 19-9 lead halfway through the first half. During that timespan the Bearcats shot 5-of-7 from the field as they were doing a great job at attacking the rim and getting to their spots. The Bearcats were locked in on defense early, as they were really stepping in and drawing a lot of charge calls early, and was making it very hard for Presbyterian to get going on offense early.
The Bearcats started to slow down on offense as Presbyterian stopped the big Bearcats run after a back to back free throws from Owen McCormick. The Bearcats got a big rebound and the Bearcats found a wide open Viktor Lakhin for a easy slam. Lakhin played a huge factor early, for the Bearcats as he started off 3-of-3 with eight points in 10 minutes, not only did he effect the game on the offensive side, but he did on the defensive side as well, as he was creating a lot of problems for Presbyterian as he forced multiple turnovers that lead to the Bearcats getting out and running in transition.
The Bearcats have a lot of talent inside and it has shown here tonight as Lakhin, and Oguama both bring so much upside, as they both are very physical players, with high motors and can really change the game, as we saw in the first half as Oguama quickly scored six points. Lakhin played in 10 minutes of the first half and had scored a quick eight points for the Bearcats, and has been very fun to watch, not only in the scoring game, but he has the ability and athleticism to really effect the game in multiple ways as he is so talented. Both Oguama and Lakhin, are very special players to watch as they can change the impact of the game immediately, as they both bring so much upside, and energy, it changes the whole momentum and you can really see that here early in the season. The Bearcats defense created five steals during the first half, and it showed how locked in the defense was early tonight.
The leading scorers for the Bearcats during the first half of tonight’s match up was Viktor Lakhin and Jeremiah Davenport, as they both had eight points early. Ody Oguama had six points, DeJulius had five, as the Bearcats were really spreading the ball around on offense. The Bearcats shot 41% from the field in the first half, compared to Presbyterian’s 36%. A big stat to hit on was the Bearcats went 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the first half, and we all know how important free throws are in the sport of basketball. The Bearcats really limited their turnovers as they only had five turnovers, compared to 11 from Presbyterian in the first half, which led to a lot of quick buckets for the Bearcats as they had 14 points off turnovers in the first half.
Presbyterian was looking to get something going on offense early, but the Bearcats got great defense from Abdul Ado and John Newman, as they had two blocks on back to back possessions. Ado, was really brining the energy on defense early here in the second half as he was locked in, putting a lot of pressure on the ball, and was really taking away the passing lanes for the Presbyterian offense, as he was getting a hand on quite a few passes in the early parts of the second half. Fans were starting to get their first big look at what Ado can do defensively, as he was putting his defense on display and showed why he was a member of the SEC All-Defensive team a year ago. Jeremiah Davenport got off to a hot start to kick off the second half as he recorded eight quick points for the Bearcats, as he was starting to find his groove on offense.
Around the 12 minute mark in the second half, forward Viktor Lakhin looked to limp off the court, as he favored his right leg/ankle after a a made layup. The Bearcats took a timeout to regroup shortly after, as the were looking to regroup and get some offense going, as they held a 58-33 lead after five quick points from Mika Adams-Woods. The Bearcats were locked in defensively as Abdul Ado was really making it hard for Presbyterian to get anything going inside as he went three straight possessions with a block. The Bearcats held Presbyterian without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes in the second half as the Bearcats were locked in defensively, and were taking advantage of that and getting to their spots, as Mikey Saunders Jr, had a quick five points after a 3 pointer gave the Bearcats a 69-41 lead. The Bearcats defense was giving a lot of trouble for Presbyterian tonight and it was a great display of how deep this team actually is. The Bearcats got back to back threes late in the half from Mason Madsen and Mike Saunders, Jr. that gave the Bearcats a 30 point lead.
The Bearcats held on to win 79-45 tonight over Presybterian, as they really put on a defensive clinic here at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats had a strong performance from Jeremiah Davenport as he finished with a team high 16 points, three rebounds. Viktor Lahkin finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, with three rebounds and one steal. Ody Oguama finished with eight points, four rebounds, one steal and one block. Abdul Ado finished with his best game as a Bearcat and he really showed why he was a member of the SEC Defensive Team last season, as he finished with five blocks, four points, three rebounds and two steals. The Bearcats really played a complete game tonight as they held the lead for the whole game after trailing 2-0 to start but they never looked back after a 3 from Jeremiah Davenport to open the scoring for the Bearcats. The Bearcats showed their depth here tonight as they showed how big this team is whether it’s Abdul Ado, Hayden Koval, Ody Oguama, Viktor Lakhin, as they all bring a big aspect and uniqueness to this team, and the depth is very special to see growing already through the first four games. The Bearcats played all 13 players tonight that suited up, and all 13 of those players scored tonight as well.
