Today the Bearcats were looking to remaining undefeated at Fifth Third Arena as they welcomed in Monmouth for an early afternoon contest. The Bearcats coming off tremendous showing in the Hall of Fame Classic after defeating No. 14 Illinois, 71-51. The Bearcats also had a dominant performance versus No. 12 Arkansas before falling, 73-68. The Bearcats head coach Wes Miller saw some familier faces as he was facing a Monmouth team that included his younger brother Walker, who is a graduate transfer from North Carolina. Monmouth is lead by graduate guard George Papas who was named the MAC Preseason Player of the Year ahead of this season as he averages, 19.8 points per game, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, while shooting 50.8% from the field.
The Bearcats came out with a new Starting 5 for todays contest than we’ve seen in the recent games as sophomore guard Mason Madsen was set to make his first start of the season as he filled in for John Newman III who was unavailable for today’s contest.
The Bearcats jumped out to an early 5-2 lead before Walker Miller, the younger brother of Bearcats head coach Wes Miller knocked down a three to tie this game at 5. The Bearcats came out to a slow start as the trailed 6-5 at the under 16 media media timeout, before the Bearcats changed the pace of the game, as Mike Saunders speed came into effect, before going coast to coast drawing two early fouls, and getting back to back trips to the free throw line to give the Bearcats a 10-8 lead. The Bearcats got a huge steal by Mason Madsen, that led to a dunk out in the open court. The Bearcats were getting a lot of great looks early but nothing was falling their way, as they shot just 25% from the field and 0-10 from deep. The Bearcats started to find stride late in the first half after some great defense by Mika Adams-Woods and Ody Oguama led to a late 6-0 run to give the Bearcats a 23-22 lead heading into the final break of the first half. The Bearcats got rolling as Oguama gave the Bearcats that energy they were looking for as he really changed the game late in the first half. The Bearcats ended the half with three straight possessions with a 3 after starting 0-13, Saunders, Jr., Madsen, and DeJulius all connected on the final three possessions of the half for the Bearcats as they took a 36-28 lead into the half.
The Bearcats endured a slow start early, but they really got going late in the half as Ody Oguama really changed the game with his play all around on all aspects of the game. The junior shot 4-of-4 from the field in the first half for eight points. David DeJulius however, led the way with nine at the half, as he was looking to make it potential back to back 20 point performances for the Bearcats. The big stat of the first half was the Bearcats holding George Papas to zero points in the first half as the preseason MAC Player of the Year shot 0-of-4 in the first half, (0-of-3 from deep). Shavar Reynolds led the scoring for the Monmouth Hawks as he finished with 10 points in the first half which led the game in scoring.
The Bearcats came out scoring 4 quick points to extend their lead to 40-28 giving them their biggest lead of the game, before the Hawks responded with a quick 7 point run to cut the Bearcats lead to 5 as they led 43-35, after George Papas connected for his first points of the game following a made 3 pointer. The Hawks cut that 12 point deficit, to 6 after trailing 45-39 at the under 16 media timeout as Walker Miller started to get active in the paint for the Hawks. Miller, changed the pace of the game after early foul trouble in the first half, and a late Bearcats run to end the half, you could see how Monmouth was looking to find ways to get him involved in their offense to start the second half scoring a quick 8 points as the Bearcats led the Hawks 49-43. The Hawks shot right back with a Papas triple, and layup after a Bearcats turnover and cut the lead to Bearcats lead to 1 at 49-48. The Bearcats were looking to create some offense as the Bearcats were looking to get some momentum going on offense but the Bearcats weren’t getting anything to fall their way, as the Hawks took advantage and overcame an early 12 point deficit as they tied this game at 52 following a missed free throw from Jeremiah Davenport.
Monmouth guard Marcus McClary took over in the second half as he started 1-of-6 from the field before coming alive in the second half after exploding for 14 quick points on 6-of-7 shooting, as he seemed to be the playmaker down the stretch for the Hawks, and the Bearcats had to find a way to contain him on offense or Monmouth could push this game open after leading 58-53 after scoring on 7 out of 9 possession straight to give them the lead.
The Bearcats looked to find momentum after a Davenport layup cut the Monmouth lead to 3. The Bearcats had a great drive from Mika Adams-Woods that resulted in two free throws giving the Bearcats an opportunity to cut the lead, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity as Adams-Woods missed both. The Bearcats came back the next possession after a great find from Jermeiah Davenport to Hayden Koval for the slam, to cut the lead to 1, However the Hawks responded right back after a Shavar Reynolds layup.
The Bearcats had an opportunity to come back and tie this game after creating a turnover with 17 seconds left, but they couldn’t capitalize in the paint as Koval missed a layup then was fouled, which eventually led to him missing the first free throw with 4 seconds left as the Bearcats trailed 61-59
The Bearcats would fall 61-59 after Monmouth had a huge second as they held the Bearcats to just 23 points in the second half, while overcoming a 12 point deficit. The Hawks controlled all the momentum after graduate guard George Papas hit a pull up three in transition, and that really sparked some momentum for the Hawks as they never looked back from there. The Hawks had big second halves from Marcus McClary after starting the game 1-of-5 in the first half, finishing 7-of-14 on the match as he hit 6 of his last 9 shots, exploding for 14 second half points, as he finished with 18 points on the game. The Bearcats did a great job containing guard George Papas who came in to the game averaging almost 20 points per game, as they held him to six points.
Bearcats senior guard David Dejulius on Papas, “That was actually my matchup coming in. I’m actually pissed off he scored six points, but he’s a heck of a player. He can really shoot the ball quick and was at the forefront of the scouting report. Respect to him”
The Bearcats shot 38% from the field, and just 14% from three, as they went 4-of-28 from deep, as the shots weren’t able to fall today, as they started 0 for their first 10 threes in the match. However, the Bearcats created 15 turnovers, but only scored 11 points off those turnovers. They also out blocked Monmouth 6-1 as there was a possession late in the first half that really brought some momentum to the Bearcats after a slow start early.
The Bearcats were led by guard David Dejulius as he finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. Mika Adams-Woods finished with 11 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. Ody Oguama finished with 9 points, after scoring 8 points late in the first half to spark the Bearcats 36-28 lead heading into the half, was held to just one point in the second half. The Bearcats also shot 9-20 from the free throw line for just 45% on the match, which ended up playing a huge factor late in the game as Hayden Koval would end up missing two late free throws with 4 seconds left that could have potentially tied the game.
The Bearcats will look to bounce back after now dropping consecutive games, as they are now 5-2 on the season, as they travel right up the road to Oxford to take on in-state rival Miami (OH) this Wednesday at 7 pm.
