This evening the Bearcats (18-10,9-6 AAC) welcome in the Temple Owls (15-13, 9-6 AAC) to Fifth Third Arena for a battle for fourth place within the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats are coming off a statement win over the weekend vs UCF following a David DeJulius made floater in the final seconds of regulation. The Owls on the other hand, are looking for the series sweep after defeating the Bearcats 70-61 back on January 1st in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Viktor Lakhin has missed the three games with an ankle sprain, however, Kalu Ezikpe and Ody Oguama have filled in tremendously over that three-game span. Lakhin would make his return to the starting lineup here tonight, a great sign for the Bearcats as they are looking to make that final push for the three seed in the American Conference Standings. Temple on the other hand would be without their leading scorer for the second straight game as reported by The Daily Owl, Battle did not make the trip to Cincinnati. Which is huge news heading into this one as both teams are looking to secure a spot in the top four of the AAC Standings heading into the conference tournament in two weeks.
The Bearcats know the test at hand here this evening at Fifth Third Arena, and it will all come down to one factor, can the Bearcats win the battle of the glass? The last time these two teams faced the Bearcats got outrebounded 46-28, while Temple’s Jahlil White grabbed 16 of those along with 14 points. The Bearcats are looking to win that battle here tonight and avenge their 70-61 loss from earlier this season.
The Bearcats would come out to a slow start here at Fifth Third Arena as they shot just 1-of-7 from the field, while the Owls went 3-5 in the opening four minutes as the Owls took an early 8-3 lead over the Bearcats. The Bearcats would find some momentum just before the under twelve media breaks after three straight field goals, made this a 16-14 game. The Bearcats were looking to establish some momentum after a slow start, but they knew they had to turn it on quickly as Temple started 6-of-9 from the field.
The Owls were looking to build that momentum as it seemed like they could not miss as they extended their lead to 22-17 following a made layup. The Owls would start 8-of-11 from the field, as they shot 73% from the field through the first 10 minutes of play. David DeJulius, would take things over after a quick five point run of his own tied this one up at 22 as he was looking to make it a priority to get downhill and attack. DeJulius, coming off a game winner vs UCF, was wasting no time this evening as he picked right up where he left on Sunday, with a team high nine points, as the Bearcats would take their biggest lead of the game with 3:59 remaining in the first half, leading 30-24.
The Bearcats would open things up in the final stretch after Dan Skillings rattled off a quick five points following an acrobatic reverse layup. The Bearcats would take a 37-34 lead heading into the break, despite shooting 2-of-11 from the field to start the game. The Bearcats would get a huge spark off the bench from Dan Skillings, Jr., who had a team high 10 points, in just eight minutes of play. David DeJulius would follow with nine points, while Davenport had six points and four rebounds. The Bearcats were winning the battle of the glass 16-12, which was a positive sign especially after how the first matchup went. Temple would do a great job eliminating Landers Nolley, as he just had just three points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half. Overall, the Bearcats saw Lakhin in early foul trouble playing just six minutes in the first half, but turned things on after a slow sluggish start.
