TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men's basketball team fell to Monmouth, 61-59, on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati trailed by two when senior center Hayden Koval was fouled on a layup attempt with four seconds left, but he missed the first attempt and Monmouth got the rebound when he purposely missed the second.
The Bearcats got one last chance after the Hawks threw the ball out of bounds with one second left, but Mika Adams-Woods' inbounds pass to a leaping Koval was swatted away near the rim.
The Bearcats, who fell to 5-2, were led by senior guard David DeJulius, who scored 13 points. Adams-Woods added 11 points, five assists and three steals.
Monmouth improved to 5-1 and was led by Marcus McClary, who scored 18 points, including 14 in the second half. The Hawks shot 45.3% from the floor and 50% from long range, making 8-of-16 3-point attempts.
Monmouth featured Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller's brother, Walker Miller, who started at center and finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
"We've got to be better," Wes Miller said. "We've been better this year and I have to do a better job at preparing our team. The buck stops with me... I think we can take a step back and give credit to Monmouth. They played harder than us tonight. You got to give them credit and tip your cap to them. Obviously when you play against a family member you don't want to lose, you don't want to lose to anybody, and sometimes you want to beat your family more than anyone in the world. I am happy for my brother. I am really proud of the player he has become...he had a difficult matchup with our size and we tried to make it tough on him. I thought he did a good job with that tonight and I am as happy for him that I am as mad at us."
After hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half to take a 36-28 lead into halftime, Cincinnati extended its lead to 12 early in the second half.
McClary caught fire for the Hawks to get Monmouth back in the game. He made a combination of layups and jumpers midway through the second half before the Hawks cut it 1 on a Hawks on a 3-pointer from George Papas and a layup by McClary with 11 minutes left. McClary's 3-pointer at 7:11 in the second half gave the Hawks their first lead since midway through the first half, 55-52.
After forcing a Monmouth shot clock violation and an offensive foul on consecutive possessions, junior wing Jeremiah Davenport found Koval for a two-handed slam that cut the lead to 2, 59-57 with 1:43 left, but Monmouth's Shavar Reynolds answered with a layup.
Davenport's jumper cut the Bearcats' deficit to two, 61-59, with one minute left.
Sophomore guard Mason Madsen and Adams-Woods dove on the floor to steal the ball and give UC a final possession with 18 second left.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati travels a few miles to take on Miami (Ohio) at Millett Hall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati has led at the half every game this season.
-The Bearcats' five turnovers were their fewest since having four on Feb. 10, 2019 at Houston.
-Mika Adams-Woods had a season-high five assists for the third time this season to go with no turnovers. He entered the day 19th nationally in assist-turnover ratio.
-Mason Madsen earned his first-career start. He has played in every game this season and had 15 appearances as a freshman.
-It was also the first time this season that UC altered its lineup.
Cincinnati trailed by two when senior center Hayden Koval was fouled on a layup attempt with four seconds left, but he missed the first attempt and Monmouth got the rebound when he purposely missed the second.
The Bearcats got one last chance after the Hawks threw the ball out of bounds with one second left, but Mika Adams-Woods' inbounds pass to a leaping Koval was swatted away near the rim.
The Bearcats, who fell to 5-2, were led by senior guard David DeJulius, who scored 13 points. Adams-Woods added 11 points, five assists and three steals.
Monmouth improved to 5-1 and was led by Marcus McClary, who scored 18 points, including 14 in the second half. The Hawks shot 45.3% from the floor and 50% from long range, making 8-of-16 3-point attempts.
Monmouth featured Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller's brother, Walker Miller, who started at center and finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
"We've got to be better," Wes Miller said. "We've been better this year and I have to do a better job at preparing our team. The buck stops with me... I think we can take a step back and give credit to Monmouth. They played harder than us tonight. You got to give them credit and tip your cap to them. Obviously when you play against a family member you don't want to lose, you don't want to lose to anybody, and sometimes you want to beat your family more than anyone in the world. I am happy for my brother. I am really proud of the player he has become...he had a difficult matchup with our size and we tried to make it tough on him. I thought he did a good job with that tonight and I am as happy for him that I am as mad at us."
After hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half to take a 36-28 lead into halftime, Cincinnati extended its lead to 12 early in the second half.
McClary caught fire for the Hawks to get Monmouth back in the game. He made a combination of layups and jumpers midway through the second half before the Hawks cut it 1 on a Hawks on a 3-pointer from George Papas and a layup by McClary with 11 minutes left. McClary's 3-pointer at 7:11 in the second half gave the Hawks their first lead since midway through the first half, 55-52.
After forcing a Monmouth shot clock violation and an offensive foul on consecutive possessions, junior wing Jeremiah Davenport found Koval for a two-handed slam that cut the lead to 2, 59-57 with 1:43 left, but Monmouth's Shavar Reynolds answered with a layup.
Davenport's jumper cut the Bearcats' deficit to two, 61-59, with one minute left.
Sophomore guard Mason Madsen and Adams-Woods dove on the floor to steal the ball and give UC a final possession with 18 second left.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati travels a few miles to take on Miami (Ohio) at Millett Hall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati has led at the half every game this season.
-The Bearcats' five turnovers were their fewest since having four on Feb. 10, 2019 at Houston.
-Mika Adams-Woods had a season-high five assists for the third time this season to go with no turnovers. He entered the day 19th nationally in assist-turnover ratio.
-Mason Madsen earned his first-career start. He has played in every game this season and had 15 appearances as a freshman.
-It was also the first time this season that UC altered its lineup.