TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men's basketball team improved to 2-0 by defeating Georgia, 73-68, on Saturday night at Fifth Third Arena.
After Georgia cut Cincinnati's lead to four, 65-61, with just under three minutes left in the game, graduate center Hayden Koval buried a dagger 3-pointer from the top of the key and junior wing Jeremiah Davenport scored on a driving layup to give Cincinnati a 70-61 advantage with just over one minute left in the game.
A layup by Georgia's Jabri Abdur-Rahim cut Cincinnati's lead to 3, 70-67, with 23 seconds left, but junior guard Mika Adams-Woods made two free throws to extend the UC lead back to 5.
Davenport scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Adams-Woods scored 11 points and dished a team-best five assists to lead a balanced Cincinnati offensive attack that saw 10 different Bearcats score.
Senior guard David DeJulius also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Cincinnati led by as many as 13 in the game and held a decisive 40-31 advantage on the glass and a 48-38 edge in points in the paint, as sophomore forward Viktor Lahkin scored nine points and had two blocks.
UC opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017-18.
The Bulldogs started the game by making their first seven shots to jump out to a 15-6 lead seven minutes into the game, but the Bearcats took control of the game with hustle plays and defense.
Aggressive play from sophomore guard Mike Saunders ignited a 17-0 Cincinnati run. The sophomore took a rebound coast-to-coast for a layup and had steals on consecutive possessions, finding graduate center Abdul Ado for a short jumper that gave the Bearcats their first lead of the game, 20-19, at the 5:39 mark in the first half.
Cincinnati extended the run on a pair of Newman layups sandwiched around a highlight-reel alley-oop where Lakhin found junior forward Ody Oguama for a dunk.
Lakhin's put-back jam gave Cincinnati a 28-19 lead at the 3:30 mark and DeJulius' three-pointer capped the run and gave Cincinnati a 31-19 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
After Georgia stopped the run on a layup by Braelen Bridges, Adams-Woods answered with a three of his own to put UC in front by 13, 34-24.
Cincinnati took a 35-26 lead into halftime.
The Bearcats host Alabama A&M on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NOTES
-It was the first time the top-two teams in the Associated Press football poll met on the hardwood since Clemson and Alabama on Dec. 13, 2015.
-Cincinnati improved to 14-3 when Mika Adams-Woods (11 points) reaches double-figures.
-Cincinnati's seven turnovers were its fewest since Dec. 21, 2019 at Iowa.
-The Bearcats' 48 points in the paint marked their most since Jan. 20, 2018 against East Carolina.
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After Georgia cut Cincinnati's lead to four, 65-61, with just under three minutes left in the game, graduate center Hayden Koval buried a dagger 3-pointer from the top of the key and junior wing Jeremiah Davenport scored on a driving layup to give Cincinnati a 70-61 advantage with just over one minute left in the game.
A layup by Georgia's Jabri Abdur-Rahim cut Cincinnati's lead to 3, 70-67, with 23 seconds left, but junior guard Mika Adams-Woods made two free throws to extend the UC lead back to 5.
Davenport scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Adams-Woods scored 11 points and dished a team-best five assists to lead a balanced Cincinnati offensive attack that saw 10 different Bearcats score.
Senior guard David DeJulius also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Cincinnati led by as many as 13 in the game and held a decisive 40-31 advantage on the glass and a 48-38 edge in points in the paint, as sophomore forward Viktor Lahkin scored nine points and had two blocks.
UC opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 2017-18.
The Bulldogs started the game by making their first seven shots to jump out to a 15-6 lead seven minutes into the game, but the Bearcats took control of the game with hustle plays and defense.
Aggressive play from sophomore guard Mike Saunders ignited a 17-0 Cincinnati run. The sophomore took a rebound coast-to-coast for a layup and had steals on consecutive possessions, finding graduate center Abdul Ado for a short jumper that gave the Bearcats their first lead of the game, 20-19, at the 5:39 mark in the first half.
Cincinnati extended the run on a pair of Newman layups sandwiched around a highlight-reel alley-oop where Lakhin found junior forward Ody Oguama for a dunk.
Lakhin's put-back jam gave Cincinnati a 28-19 lead at the 3:30 mark and DeJulius' three-pointer capped the run and gave Cincinnati a 31-19 lead with three minutes left in the first half.
After Georgia stopped the run on a layup by Braelen Bridges, Adams-Woods answered with a three of his own to put UC in front by 13, 34-24.
Cincinnati took a 35-26 lead into halftime.
The Bearcats host Alabama A&M on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NOTES
-It was the first time the top-two teams in the Associated Press football poll met on the hardwood since Clemson and Alabama on Dec. 13, 2015.
-Cincinnati improved to 14-3 when Mika Adams-Woods (11 points) reaches double-figures.
-Cincinnati's seven turnovers were its fewest since Dec. 21, 2019 at Iowa.
-The Bearcats' 48 points in the paint marked their most since Jan. 20, 2018 against East Carolina.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.