Tonight, the Bearcats (4-3) welcome in NJIT (1-5) to Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats would look to make it two in a row after a huge 81-62 victory over Louisville last week in the final game of the Maui Invitational. NJIT would feature two local Cincinnati players one in which many Bearcat fans should know very well if they followed up with the local talent and recruiting, and that is Paul McMillian IV. McMillian was a high three-star prospect out of Woodward High School right here in Cincinnati, before deciding to take his talent to New Jersey and join the Highlanders.
However, as we discussed on the latest episode of the Bearcat Tip-Off Talk Podcast coming into tonights matchup was the Highlander’s leading scorer Miles Coleman who averages 17.8 points per game. However, something to keep an eye on was that Coleman was not in the starting lineup for the Highlanders as he looked to be unavailable for the Highlanders tonight.
The Highlanders would lead 19-17 with 10:47 remaining in the first half as the Highlanders were starting to get going offensively after a huge 12-2 run after erasing the Bearcats early lead. Wes Miller really emphasized on getting the ball inside to Viktor Lakhin more and they came out and did that right away here at Fifth Third Arena as the big man had four points and four rebounds in the first 8 minutes.
The Bearcats would take a 25-21 lead following a DeJulius layup out in transition after forcing Cincinnati native Paul McMillian into the steal. That layup was DeJulius’s 1000th career point and the Bearcats would look to build off that turnover. The Bearcats continued to dominate the glass as they were out rebounding the Highlanders 18-6, (7-0) on the offensive boards, which was a huge factor and something we elaborated on coming into this game.
The Bearcats would go on a 12-0 run as they took a 33-21 behind consecutive triples from David DeJulius. The Bearcats offense got in a very nice rhythm late in the first half and it really started with the play of Kalu Ezipke, who has started to find his footing here to tonight as he was making great screens and was really a key part of that 12 point run and helped set the tone for the Bearcats offensively.
The Bearcats would take a 45-31 lead to the break as they were looking to get whatever they wanted offensively after a huge 22-5 run late in the first half. The Bearcats were dominating the glass as they outrebounded the Highlanders 20-10, (8-1 on the offensive end). The Bearcats saw a huge first half from DeJulius, who was coming off a huge 26-point performance vs Louisville and was looking to pick up right where he left off. DeJulius led the team with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Landers Nolley contributed a smooth seven points behind him. Viktor Lakhin continued to make his presence known inside as he had a quick six points and five rebounds, which was something Wes Miller really emphasized at yesterday’s press conference was that they wanted to get Lakhin more touches inside and that really allowed the Bearcats to spread the floor and get to their spots.
The Bearcats would take a huge 12-4 run to open the second half as they would look to build their lead as the Highlanders were forced to call a timeout trailing 57-35 early in the second half. The Bearcats were just dominating on all ends of the court as it was making it just about impossible for the Highlanders to get anything going as they tried make a comeback, but the Cats would keep their foot on the gas as they looked to slam the door on the Highlanders.
The Bearcats would do just that as they sparked a late seven point run behind a huge triple from Nolley, followed by an easy layup from Phinisee gave them a 70-49 lead over the Highlanders. The Bearcats continued to find ways to get the ball inside to Lakhin, who was able to notch his second double-double of the season after grabbing his tenth board with just under four minutes left in the game.
The Bearcats would hold on to defeat the Highlanders 86-60 behind a dominant performance from guards Landers Nolley and David DeJulius. DeJulius finished with a game high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Nolley contributed 18 points, on 5-of-7 shooting. The Bearcats made it an emphasis to win the battle on the glass as they outrebounded the Highlanders 40-22 behind a huge double-double performance from Viktor Lakhin.
“It’s good to come back home and win in our own building,” said Wes Miller. “The Maui tournament has been going on for so long and it is the best preseason tournament in college basketball. You want to play in those events, but there’s a long history of teams coming off that event especially teams on the east coast and Midwest coming off of that event and really struggle the following week. To come out here and feel a win back in our own building following that trip it was well definitely well needed and feel good on that aspect.”
The Bearcats will be back in action this Sunday when they welcome in Bryant (7-1) to Fifth Third Arena for game one of a weekend doubleheader that kicks off at noon, followed by the Bearcats Women’s team shortly after at 3 pm.
