CINCINNATI— All five starters scored in double-figures to lead the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team to a 78-60 win over La Salle inside Fifth Third Arena on Saturday.
With the win, Cincinnati improves to 8-4 on the season.
Graduate student guard David DeJulius turned in his sixth straight double-digit scoring affair with a game-high 17 points on 6-12 from the field. Redshirt sophomore Victor Lakhin tied a season-high 17 points and added four rebounds.
Cincinnati opened the game with a 9-0 run through the first four minutes of action, sparked by five early points from DeJulius. The Bearcats forced four turnovers during the stretch and held an opponent scoreless for the longest stretch to start a game this season.
The Bearcats continued to apply the pressure defensively by forcing nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game to hold a 18-11 lead. Cincinnati forced a season-high 25 turnovers on the afternoon, which marks the most under head coach Wes Miller.
A three from the top of the key from senior guard Landers Nolley II jumpstarted a 11-0 run that put the Bearcats up 13 with under four to play in the first half. Nolley II finished with 10 points and a season-high six assists.
Cincinnati was in the bonus with five minutes left and converted on 12-13 from the line before the break. Senior guard Jeremiah Davenport made 4-4 from the line and scored all of his 11 points in the first 20 minutes as Cincinnati headed into the locker room with a 40-23 lead.
LaSalle started the second half on 8-0 run to cut the margin to nine at 31-40 before the Bearcats responded with a 14-3 run of their own.
Cincinnati would not let the lead get any closer than nine points throughout the remainder of the afternoon as the Bearcats opened up their largest lead of the game at 71-49 with 4:19 remaining in regulation.
Cincinnati closes out its longest homestand of the season when the Bearcats host Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
FROM WES MILLER
"It's good to win a game where you hold somebody to 60 (points). I can't lie that after the first half I wanted to hold them in the 50s and I thought we had a chance to do that last four or five minutes of the game. So, I didn't like that part, but it was a choppy game, and give coach (Fran) Dunphy credit. He's an elite coach. He's one of the better coaches in our game. I'm glad to see him back on the sidelines. He's been tremendous to me as a young coach without any good reason, just that he's as great of a coach and a better guy. So, I think the world to him, and you know, he's going to have his team playing hard. I thought they made it choppy and scrappy, and it didn't have a lot of flow to the game."
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati wore red jerseys for the first time this season.
-Viktor Lakhin went 7-for-8 from the field to improve to 71.1 percent on the season. He entered the day eighth in the nation and tops in the AAC.
-David DeJulius has scored in double-figures nine times in the team's 12 games, including each of the last six. UC is 8-1 when he does so.
-Davenport finished with a season-high eight rebounds.
-Cincinnati's 23 points allowed in the first half was a season-low for any period this year.
-Dan Skillings posted career-highs of three blocks and three steals.
-Landers Nolley II had a season-high six assists.
With the win, Cincinnati improves to 8-4 on the season.
Graduate student guard David DeJulius turned in his sixth straight double-digit scoring affair with a game-high 17 points on 6-12 from the field. Redshirt sophomore Victor Lakhin tied a season-high 17 points and added four rebounds.
Cincinnati opened the game with a 9-0 run through the first four minutes of action, sparked by five early points from DeJulius. The Bearcats forced four turnovers during the stretch and held an opponent scoreless for the longest stretch to start a game this season.
The Bearcats continued to apply the pressure defensively by forcing nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game to hold a 18-11 lead. Cincinnati forced a season-high 25 turnovers on the afternoon, which marks the most under head coach Wes Miller.
A three from the top of the key from senior guard Landers Nolley II jumpstarted a 11-0 run that put the Bearcats up 13 with under four to play in the first half. Nolley II finished with 10 points and a season-high six assists.
Cincinnati was in the bonus with five minutes left and converted on 12-13 from the line before the break. Senior guard Jeremiah Davenport made 4-4 from the line and scored all of his 11 points in the first 20 minutes as Cincinnati headed into the locker room with a 40-23 lead.
LaSalle started the second half on 8-0 run to cut the margin to nine at 31-40 before the Bearcats responded with a 14-3 run of their own.
Cincinnati would not let the lead get any closer than nine points throughout the remainder of the afternoon as the Bearcats opened up their largest lead of the game at 71-49 with 4:19 remaining in regulation.
Cincinnati closes out its longest homestand of the season when the Bearcats host Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
FROM WES MILLER
"It's good to win a game where you hold somebody to 60 (points). I can't lie that after the first half I wanted to hold them in the 50s and I thought we had a chance to do that last four or five minutes of the game. So, I didn't like that part, but it was a choppy game, and give coach (Fran) Dunphy credit. He's an elite coach. He's one of the better coaches in our game. I'm glad to see him back on the sidelines. He's been tremendous to me as a young coach without any good reason, just that he's as great of a coach and a better guy. So, I think the world to him, and you know, he's going to have his team playing hard. I thought they made it choppy and scrappy, and it didn't have a lot of flow to the game."
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati wore red jerseys for the first time this season.
-Viktor Lakhin went 7-for-8 from the field to improve to 71.1 percent on the season. He entered the day eighth in the nation and tops in the AAC.
-David DeJulius has scored in double-figures nine times in the team's 12 games, including each of the last six. UC is 8-1 when he does so.
-Davenport finished with a season-high eight rebounds.
-Cincinnati's 23 points allowed in the first half was a season-low for any period this year.
-Dan Skillings posted career-highs of three blocks and three steals.
-Landers Nolley II had a season-high six assists.