TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men's basketball team overcame a 17-point deficit to tie the game in the closing seconds with a four-point play from senior guard David DeJulius, but Xavier guard Souley Boum made one-of-two free throws with 1.4 seconds left to lift the visiting Musketeers to a 78-77 win on Saturday in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout game.
Cincinnati intentionally took a technical foul for calling a timeout without any left with one second left after a Boum free throw miss. Cincinnati got the ball back down three after Boum added two more free throws.
Sophomore wing Jarrett Hensley's inbounds pass was deflected as time expired.
Senior guard David DeJulius single-handedly brought the Bearcats back in the final minute by drilling back-to-back three-point field goals to erase a six-point deficit with 34 seconds left and tie the game.
After DeJulius hit a free throw following a triple he was fouled making with 11 seconds left, Boum got the ball at the top of the key and drove to hoop where he was fouled.
UC was led by 22 points from DeJulius, whilel redshirt sophomore center Viktor Lakhin added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in addition to eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Xavier was led by senior center Jack Nunge (18 points) and Boum (21 points).
Cincinnati's made it a game in the second half with an 8-0 run with just over sevens left in regulation.
Lakhin had an emphatic block of Boum to start a fastbreak capped by an and-one dunk by Nolley II. His ensuing free throw made the score 63-57 with 7:13 remaining to cap the spurt.
Less than two minutes later, Nolley found senior forward Ody Oguama, who had a season-high nine points, for a dunk to make it 66-61.
Oguama had another dunk on UC's next possession to cut the deficit to 3 with five minutes left, but Xavier center Jack Nunge buried a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-0 run.
Xavier guard Colby Jones's three-point-play layup following a Cincinnati turnover pushed the XU lead to 74-63 with 3:42 left.
Xavier made 7 of 15 shots in the game's first nine minutes, while the Bearcats hit only 2 of their first 13.
The Musketeers shot 46 percent at halftime and led 41-24, while the Bearcats made just 26 percent of their first half field goal attempts.
Nunge's three at 11:20 in the first half extended the Musketeers' advantage to 20-8.
Xavier guard Adam Kunkel made a three to put the visitors ahead 25-10, but Bearcat seniors Jeremiah Davenport and Mika Adams-Woods buried back-to-back triple to bring the Bearcats within 11, 27-16 with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
FROM WES MILLER
"First of all, I just want to congratulate [Coach] Sean Miller and his team. They're well prepared. They're well coached. Good players, and that's a that's a good basketball team that I think has a chance to win the Big East. Obviously, we're hurting. We hate losing, I hate losing, and our kids hate losing. It hurts to lose that way. You got one stop to win the game and, in this case, it was to extend the game, and we don't execute a ball screen coverage. We've got to work to get to the point we can win that extra possession. You talk about fighting back in, and I believe in are kids, I love our kids, and I'm proud of their fight, but that is to be expected. You're expected to fight like that. This is a blessing to be able to run out of that tunnel and play in a game like that, in an atmosphere like that."
NOTABLE
-Mika Adams-Woods had a season-high six assists for the second-straight game.
-Viktor Lakhin was 7-for-9 from the field, and he entered the day shooting 67 percent from the field (second in the AAC).
-David DeJulius' 22 points marked his fifth of 20-plus this year, while it was also UC's first loss in such games. He has 17 for his career.
-Cincinnati's 89 percent clip at the line (16-for-18) was a season-best.
-Cincinnati leads the all-time series 51-39.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati stays home to host Miami (Ohio) at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Fifth Third Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.
Cincinnati intentionally took a technical foul for calling a timeout without any left with one second left after a Boum free throw miss. Cincinnati got the ball back down three after Boum added two more free throws.
Sophomore wing Jarrett Hensley's inbounds pass was deflected as time expired.
Senior guard David DeJulius single-handedly brought the Bearcats back in the final minute by drilling back-to-back three-point field goals to erase a six-point deficit with 34 seconds left and tie the game.
After DeJulius hit a free throw following a triple he was fouled making with 11 seconds left, Boum got the ball at the top of the key and drove to hoop where he was fouled.
UC was led by 22 points from DeJulius, whilel redshirt sophomore center Viktor Lakhin added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in addition to eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Xavier was led by senior center Jack Nunge (18 points) and Boum (21 points).
Cincinnati's made it a game in the second half with an 8-0 run with just over sevens left in regulation.
Lakhin had an emphatic block of Boum to start a fastbreak capped by an and-one dunk by Nolley II. His ensuing free throw made the score 63-57 with 7:13 remaining to cap the spurt.
Less than two minutes later, Nolley found senior forward Ody Oguama, who had a season-high nine points, for a dunk to make it 66-61.
Oguama had another dunk on UC's next possession to cut the deficit to 3 with five minutes left, but Xavier center Jack Nunge buried a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-0 run.
Xavier guard Colby Jones's three-point-play layup following a Cincinnati turnover pushed the XU lead to 74-63 with 3:42 left.
Xavier made 7 of 15 shots in the game's first nine minutes, while the Bearcats hit only 2 of their first 13.
The Musketeers shot 46 percent at halftime and led 41-24, while the Bearcats made just 26 percent of their first half field goal attempts.
Nunge's three at 11:20 in the first half extended the Musketeers' advantage to 20-8.
Xavier guard Adam Kunkel made a three to put the visitors ahead 25-10, but Bearcat seniors Jeremiah Davenport and Mika Adams-Woods buried back-to-back triple to bring the Bearcats within 11, 27-16 with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
FROM WES MILLER
"First of all, I just want to congratulate [Coach] Sean Miller and his team. They're well prepared. They're well coached. Good players, and that's a that's a good basketball team that I think has a chance to win the Big East. Obviously, we're hurting. We hate losing, I hate losing, and our kids hate losing. It hurts to lose that way. You got one stop to win the game and, in this case, it was to extend the game, and we don't execute a ball screen coverage. We've got to work to get to the point we can win that extra possession. You talk about fighting back in, and I believe in are kids, I love our kids, and I'm proud of their fight, but that is to be expected. You're expected to fight like that. This is a blessing to be able to run out of that tunnel and play in a game like that, in an atmosphere like that."
NOTABLE
-Mika Adams-Woods had a season-high six assists for the second-straight game.
-Viktor Lakhin was 7-for-9 from the field, and he entered the day shooting 67 percent from the field (second in the AAC).
-David DeJulius' 22 points marked his fifth of 20-plus this year, while it was also UC's first loss in such games. He has 17 for his career.
-Cincinnati's 89 percent clip at the line (16-for-18) was a season-best.
-Cincinnati leads the all-time series 51-39.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati stays home to host Miami (Ohio) at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Fifth Third Arena. The game will air on ESPN+.