Today the Bearcats took on DII Ashland University on short notice after the Bearcats original slated opponent Texas Southern University had to pull out due to a positive covid test. The Bearcats found a last-minute replacement with Ashland, as this is another in state matchup for the Bearcats.
Ashland came in 5-3 on the season and are led by head coach John Ellenwood. The Bearcats on the other hand come in 8-3 as first year head coach Wes Miller has the Bearcats off to a solid start ahead of conference play within the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats will be without guard Mason Madsen for the second consecutive game as he continues to recover from a hip injury.
The starters for the Bearcats were Abdul Ado, John Newman, Jeremiah Davenport, Mika Adams-Woods and David DeJulius. While for Ashland the Starters were Brandon Haraway, Bo Furcron, Tre Baumgardner, Aaron Thompson and Derek Koch.
The Bearcats were looking to see what Ashland would bring to the table, but Ashland strikes first following a 3 from Derek Koch, The Bearcats however responded with triples from Jeremiah Davenport and John Newman to give the Bearcats a 6-5 lead at the under 16 media timeout. The Bearcats went cold for nearly 5 minutes before a John Newman layup to give the Bearcats a 11-10 lead over Ashland. The Bearcats were off to a slow start shooting early as they started shooting just 27% from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game. Ashland wasn’t shying away from the opportunity as they were being very physical inside as they were winning the battle on the glass within the first 10 minutes. The Bearcats jumped out to a 16-12 lead following baskets from Davenport and Newman, but Ashland responded right back with consecutive backdoor layups slashing through the Bearcats defense.
The Bearcats flipped the tempo as Mike Saunders slashed his way through the Ashland defense to start what would start a 5 point scoring run for the sophomore guard. The Bearcats followed suit and jumped out to a 27-16 run after a quick 11 point run from Mike Saunders and David DeJulius. The Bearcats were locked in as they were getting stops on defense, making it very tough for Ashland to get any momentum going during that run. The Bearcats were crashing the glass as they were outrebounding the Eagles 22-12 during the first half. The Bearcats really flipped the switch late in the first half and it started with guard Mike Saunders and his ability to push the tempo. The Bearcats dominated the final 10 minutes and it started with that change of pace. One thing Coach Miller has been preaching all season was the battle on the glass and that’s the big factor here in the first half of this game, as the Bearcats were just battling inside grabbing every board they could, as they weren’t allowing any easy shots for Ashland on offense. The Bearcats led the Eagles 34-21 at the halfway point, As Devenport led the way for the Bearcats with nine points, followed by Saunders, DeJulius each with eight.
The Bearcats continued to push the tempo to start the half, as David DeJulius continued to find his shots, and be a problem for opposing teams defenses, as he went on a 11-point run, giving the Bearcats a 48-30 lead over the Eagles. DeJulius was finding his way to the basket and the Eagles were having a hard time containing him to start the second half, as he had 11 second half points in the first 6 minutes.
The Bearcats saw their veteran leaders in David DeJulius and Jeremiah Davenport completely takeover the second half as they erupted for all 24 points of the Bearcats points to start the half, shooting a combined 9-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-3 from deep.
The Eagles however cranked out a 15-4 run late in the second half before a triple from Davenport stopped the run out of the Bearcats timeout. The Eagles weren’t shying away as they continued to battle cutting the Bearcats lead to 10, when they trailed 67-57 with under 2:30 left. Davenport and DeJulius held on to score 29 of the Bearcats 37 second half points to give the Bearcats a 71-57 victory over Ashland.
The Bearcats were led by David DeJulius who finished with 24 points, followed by Davenport’s 22. The Bearcats veterans controlled the game as they led the Bearcats to a 71-57 victory over a very good DII Ashland team.
The Bearcats will be back in action this Tuesday at 7 pm when they welcome Tennessee Tech to Fifth Third Arena, in what will be the homecoming of former Bearcat Mamoudou Diarra.
