TicketsCINCINNATI – A buzzer-beating hook shot by USF's Russel Tchewa handed the Cincinnati men's basketball team a 56-54 loss on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats trailed by four with two minutes to play on Senior Night when junior forward Ody Oguama made a layup and junior forward Jeremiah Davenport swished a long jumper to tie the game with 58 seconds left.
Senior center Abdul Ado forced a turnover with 35 seconds left to give the Bearcats the ball back with a chance to win, but senior guard David DeJulius' stepback jumper with five seconds left rattled out.
The Bulls took advantage of their last-second opportunity when Corey Walker, Jr. whipped a quick pass to Tchewa for the game-winning bucket.
Cincinnati received 35 points from the bench, led by 11 from senior guard John Newman III and 10 points from junior guard Mika Adams-Woods.
Cincinnati led by as many as seven points in the second half, but the Bulls fought back to take a 54-50 lead with 1:59 left in the game when stifling defense and timely plays from Oguama, Davenport and Ado gave the Bearcats a chance at the end.
The Bearcats dropped to 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference. Saturday's game served as Senior Night and seniors Sam Martin, Hayden Koval and Ado were honored during pregame.
USF improved to 8-20 overall and 3-13 in the league with the victory.
Cincinnati missed its first 11 shots before sophomore guard Mike Saunders, Jr. found classmate Mason Madsen for a three-point swish from the corner.
Trailing 14-9, Cincinnati went on a 11-0 run to take the 20-14 lead with five minutes left in the first half behind three-pointers from Madsen and Adams-Woods and a fastbreak layup by Madsen off a full-court pass from senior guard John Newman III.
Newman's three-pointer two minutes before the break kept UC in front, 27-25, at halftime.
The Bearcats extended their lead to 34-27 on a layup by Davenport at the 18:00 mark before Tchewa converted a layup and a free throw.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch before USF guard Caleb Murphy got hot and sparked a 7-0 run to give the Bulls a 43-41 lead.
Cincinnati took the lead back, but Murphy made a jumper and Jamir Chaplin buried a 3-pointer to put USF ahead by 4.
NOTES
Cincinnati heads to Texas for a two-game road swing at Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU) on March 1 and at SMU (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2 or ESPNU) on March 3.
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The Bearcats trailed by four with two minutes to play on Senior Night when junior forward Ody Oguama made a layup and junior forward Jeremiah Davenport swished a long jumper to tie the game with 58 seconds left.
Senior center Abdul Ado forced a turnover with 35 seconds left to give the Bearcats the ball back with a chance to win, but senior guard David DeJulius' stepback jumper with five seconds left rattled out.
The Bulls took advantage of their last-second opportunity when Corey Walker, Jr. whipped a quick pass to Tchewa for the game-winning bucket.
Cincinnati received 35 points from the bench, led by 11 from senior guard John Newman III and 10 points from junior guard Mika Adams-Woods.
Cincinnati led by as many as seven points in the second half, but the Bulls fought back to take a 54-50 lead with 1:59 left in the game when stifling defense and timely plays from Oguama, Davenport and Ado gave the Bearcats a chance at the end.
The Bearcats dropped to 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference. Saturday's game served as Senior Night and seniors Sam Martin, Hayden Koval and Ado were honored during pregame.
USF improved to 8-20 overall and 3-13 in the league with the victory.
Cincinnati missed its first 11 shots before sophomore guard Mike Saunders, Jr. found classmate Mason Madsen for a three-point swish from the corner.
Trailing 14-9, Cincinnati went on a 11-0 run to take the 20-14 lead with five minutes left in the first half behind three-pointers from Madsen and Adams-Woods and a fastbreak layup by Madsen off a full-court pass from senior guard John Newman III.
Newman's three-pointer two minutes before the break kept UC in front, 27-25, at halftime.
The Bearcats extended their lead to 34-27 on a layup by Davenport at the 18:00 mark before Tchewa converted a layup and a free throw.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch before USF guard Caleb Murphy got hot and sparked a 7-0 run to give the Bulls a 43-41 lead.
Cincinnati took the lead back, but Murphy made a jumper and Jamir Chaplin buried a 3-pointer to put USF ahead by 4.
NOTES
- Cincinnati dropped to 35-10 all-time against USF.
- Cincinnati and USF combined to score 52 points in the first half – UC's lowest combined total first-half output with an opponent this season.
- Walk-on senior guard Sam Martin earned his second career start on Senior Night.
Cincinnati heads to Texas for a two-game road swing at Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU) on March 1 and at SMU (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2 or ESPNU) on March 3.
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.