This afternoon the Bearcats (19-11, 10-7 AAC) welcomed in SMU for their final home game as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats will look to achieve twenty wins for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The Bearcats honored seniors Kalu Ezikpe, Rob Phinisee and David DeJulius ahead of this afternoon’s matchup on their very special day in their young profound college basketball careers. Although, Ezipke and Phinisee only spent one season here at the University of Cincinnati and wasn’t how many people planned due to injuries and such, they still impacted this program and community in many ways. DeJulius, has quickly became a fan favorite over the last three seasons not just on the court, but off the court as well for his impact in the greater Cincinnati community. The Bearcats know what is at stake, as a win clinches a first-round bye in next week’s AAC tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
How it Happened
David DeJulius would get this one underway after knocking down a wide-open triple, and it was only fitting for the senior guard to get the scoring started this afternoon. The Bearcats wasted no time getting their scorers involved early after six straight from Nolley that would give the Bearcats an 11-6 lead at the first media stoppage of the first half. A great sign for the Bearcats early, as they were getting their scorers involved early as they started 4-of-6 from the field in the opening segment as Nolley and DeJulius had nine of the Bearcats first eleven points. The Bearcats would look to get the ball inside to Ody Oguama early and use the size advantage to their strengths early as the last time these two teams faced Oguama and Lakhin combined for twenty rebounds alone in the Bearcats 56-54 win over the Mustangs in Dallas.
The Bearcats would start to open the flood gates after consecutive made threes from Adams-Woods, and Nolley made this a 20-12 game. Nolley, was looking to blow the roof off in what could be his final game at Fifth Third Arena as he knocked down his first three attempts of the game. The Mustangs just had no answer for the Bearcats perimeter shooting after knocking down five of their first six threes to start the game, the Mustangs knew they’d have to make some adjustments, or it could be a long afternoon.
However, things would get a little chippy after a hard foul on a Kalu Ezikpe dunk attempt, that would leave the 6’9″ forward to get looked at by medical staff before quickly returning. That’s when things got chippy as SMU’s Edi Odiege shoved Ezikpe after returning to the floor leading to a dead ball technical foul which sparked an 8-0 run as the Bearcats had a huge 40-24 lead with 4:00 remaining in the first half. It was a splash party here at Fifth Third arena as the Bearcats knocked down nine of their first thirteen three-point attempts as Nolley (14), DeJulius (10) and Davenport (9) combined for 33 of the Bearcats first 40 points this afternoon.
The Mustangs woke up Kalu Ezikpe after the hard foul after DeJulius found him inside for the poster that would spark a lot of momentum. Ezikpe, was playing at a whole different intensity since the foul on the first dunk attempt, but man did he make SMU pay this time catching a body in the process. This was what the Bearcats needed after Lakhin picked up his second foul early in the first half. The Mustangs just had no answer for the Bearcats through the first 20 minutes and it showed from start to finish of the first half as the Bearcats lead 51-34 heading into the half. The Bearcats were led by Landers Nolley, who finished with 14 points, while DeJulius (12) and Davenport (10) combined for 22 points as well. The Bearcats shot 55% from the field, and 53% from deep and it’s safe to say the Bearcats week off came at the right time because they looked like a brand-new team here this afternoon as they prepare for the AAC Tournament next week. The Bearcats ball movement was phenomenal as they had 12 first half assists compared to just two turnovers, which is huge coming off a game where they had 20 turnovers vs Memphis.
The Mustangs would look to throw out a half-court trap on defense to start the first half, but the Bearcats continued to find ways to the rack. The Bearcats would take a commanding 60-41 lead with just under 15 minutes left in the first half before a Mustang six-point run sparked some momentum the other way. The Bearcats would respond with a run of their own as they opened things back up as they would take a 69-52 lead with 11:52 remaining after Adams-Woods would go coast to coast after picking Zach Nutall’s pockets on the defensive end.
