TicketsCINCINNATI – Stifling defense and a career-best night from redshirt sophomore post Viktor Lakhin lifted the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team to a 72-54 victory over Detroit on Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena.
Lakhin finished with career highs in points (18) and rebounds (15) for his fourth double-double of the season. Those boards also marked the most by a Bearcat since Tre Scott's 21 on Feb. 20, 2020 against UCF.
Senior guard David DeJulius (10 points), senior wing Landers Nolley II (11) and senior guard Mika Adams-Woods (11) each reached double figures, as well.
The Bearcats improved to 9-4 following their third straight win and sixth victory in their last seven games.
UC astoundingly didn't attempt a free throw until the 5:29 mark in the second half. However, the Bearcats committed a season-low four turnovers and held Detroit Mercy's star guard, Antoine Davis, the nation's active scoring leader and a career 24.6 ppg scorer, to 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting.
The defining stretch for the Bearcats happened in the final two minutes of the second half. After the Titans' Davis tied the game 28-28, DeJulius made a fast break layup before Lakhin's putback stretched UC's lead to 6.
With 30 seconds left, DeJulius played tough defense on Davis to force a contested miss. He then grabbed the rebound and quickly beat the halftime buzzer with pull-up 3 to give Cincinnati a 37-28 lead at the break.
The Bearcats' super senior lead guard stayed hot to open the second half with a steal and a layup, followed by a corner 3 that put UC in front 42-28 one minute into the final frame.
A DeJulius alley-oop pass to Lakhin for the layup made the score 46-28 two minutes later.
Nolley II made a corner 3 with 10 minutes left to extend the Bearcats' lead to 55-37.
After Detroit Mercy cut its deficit to 12, Lakhin hit a pair of free throws and smashed home an alley-oop dunk to make the score 70-54 with two minutes left.
Detroit Mercy made four consecutive 3-pointers to take a 16-8 lead at the 12:27 mark in the first half. A trey from Jeremiah Davenport sparked a 9-0 run for the Bearcats as Detroit Mercy cooled off making 2 of 10 shots midway through the first half.
Two quick buckets and emphatic block from Ody Oguama kept UC in front 26-24 five minutes before the intermission.
Detroit Mercy missed seven of eight shots in the final minutes before halftime as Lakhin and DeJulius took over the game with their rebounding, shot-making and defense.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts Tulane on Dec. 29 for a 9 p.m. game to kickoff America Athletic Conference play on ESPN2.
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati's four turnovers were one off a school record and the fewest since Feb. 10, 2019 against Houston.
-Viktor Lakhin earned his fourth double-double and fifth of his career, and his 8-for-10 night moved him to 72 percent shooting for the year. He entered the night fourth nationally there.
-Cincinnati is now 9-1 when leading at the half.
-Ody Oguama is 14-for-18 from the field over his last five games (77.8 percent). He is shooting 61.8 percent after going 47.3 percent last year.
-Mika Adams-Woods improved to 25-for-27 (92.6 percent) from the free-throw line this season. It was also his seventh game in double-figures this year.
-David DeJulius now has 869 points at Cincinnati and 1,100 for his career.
-Landers Nolley II's nine rebounds were a season-high, and Jeremiah Davenport was one away from his with five assists.
Lakhin finished with career highs in points (18) and rebounds (15) for his fourth double-double of the season. Those boards also marked the most by a Bearcat since Tre Scott's 21 on Feb. 20, 2020 against UCF.
Senior guard David DeJulius (10 points), senior wing Landers Nolley II (11) and senior guard Mika Adams-Woods (11) each reached double figures, as well.
The Bearcats improved to 9-4 following their third straight win and sixth victory in their last seven games.
UC astoundingly didn't attempt a free throw until the 5:29 mark in the second half. However, the Bearcats committed a season-low four turnovers and held Detroit Mercy's star guard, Antoine Davis, the nation's active scoring leader and a career 24.6 ppg scorer, to 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting.
The defining stretch for the Bearcats happened in the final two minutes of the second half. After the Titans' Davis tied the game 28-28, DeJulius made a fast break layup before Lakhin's putback stretched UC's lead to 6.
With 30 seconds left, DeJulius played tough defense on Davis to force a contested miss. He then grabbed the rebound and quickly beat the halftime buzzer with pull-up 3 to give Cincinnati a 37-28 lead at the break.
The Bearcats' super senior lead guard stayed hot to open the second half with a steal and a layup, followed by a corner 3 that put UC in front 42-28 one minute into the final frame.
A DeJulius alley-oop pass to Lakhin for the layup made the score 46-28 two minutes later.
Nolley II made a corner 3 with 10 minutes left to extend the Bearcats' lead to 55-37.
After Detroit Mercy cut its deficit to 12, Lakhin hit a pair of free throws and smashed home an alley-oop dunk to make the score 70-54 with two minutes left.
Detroit Mercy made four consecutive 3-pointers to take a 16-8 lead at the 12:27 mark in the first half. A trey from Jeremiah Davenport sparked a 9-0 run for the Bearcats as Detroit Mercy cooled off making 2 of 10 shots midway through the first half.
Two quick buckets and emphatic block from Ody Oguama kept UC in front 26-24 five minutes before the intermission.
Detroit Mercy missed seven of eight shots in the final minutes before halftime as Lakhin and DeJulius took over the game with their rebounding, shot-making and defense.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts Tulane on Dec. 29 for a 9 p.m. game to kickoff America Athletic Conference play on ESPN2.
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati's four turnovers were one off a school record and the fewest since Feb. 10, 2019 against Houston.
-Viktor Lakhin earned his fourth double-double and fifth of his career, and his 8-for-10 night moved him to 72 percent shooting for the year. He entered the night fourth nationally there.
-Cincinnati is now 9-1 when leading at the half.
-Ody Oguama is 14-for-18 from the field over his last five games (77.8 percent). He is shooting 61.8 percent after going 47.3 percent last year.
-Mika Adams-Woods improved to 25-for-27 (92.6 percent) from the free-throw line this season. It was also his seventh game in double-figures this year.
-David DeJulius now has 869 points at Cincinnati and 1,100 for his career.
-Landers Nolley II's nine rebounds were a season-high, and Jeremiah Davenport was one away from his with five assists.