TicketsCINCINNATI – Led by redshirt sophomore forward Viktor Lakhin's 20 points (18 in the second half) and eight rebounds, as well as a strong defensive effort (24 forced turnovers), the Cincinnati men's basketball team defeated UCF, 73-64, on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.
David DeJullus also added 19 points (four 3-pointers) and seven assists, becoming the 55th member of Cincinnati's 1,000-point club and the 35th to reach it in three years or less. His last bucket was a deep dagger that put UC up 66-62 with 50 seconds left.
Senior guard Landers Nolley II added 19 points and a career-high five steals, and the Bearcats' 16 marked their most since November 2015 while matching the most by any AAC team this year. UC utilized it for a 14-2 margin in fastbreak points.
Cincinnati was up by 16 with 10 minutes left, but UCF fought back using a 7-0 run to tie the game 60-60 with two minutes left.
The Bearcats held strong, however, with Lakhin converting a 3-point play, followed by the DeJulius trey, which gave the Bearcats a 66-62 lead with under a minute to play. UCF couldn't respond, missing all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt, sending Fifth Third Arena into a frenzy.
Cincinnati took care of business at the free throw line, and a Nolley slam sealed a 73-64 win for the Bearcats.
The offenses on both sides eased into the game as the defenses controlled the tempo early. The Bearcats recorded three steals in the first six minutes, scoring their first eight points off turnovers, including two 3's from Nolley II.
Senior wing Jeremiah Davenport drained a three, and then drew a charge at the 11-minute mark sparking a 14-0 run over six minutes for the Bearcats, which was capped off with back-to-back steals turning into dunks, electrifying the crowd, and giving Cincinnati a 24-12 lead.
The Bearcats turned defense into offense scoring 18 points off 15 turnovers in the first half, including back-to-back steals by Phinisee that led to a Davenport fastbreak dunk on the second.
Cincinnati finished the half on a 21-8 run over the final 11:26, giving UC a 31-20 lead into the locker room.
After halftime, both teams came out swinging, trading baskets back-and-forth for the first 12 minutes of the half. Lakhin led the Bearcats in the second half, scoring 13 of the team's first 20 points after the break, including the first three baskets. FROM WES MILLER "I'm really pleased that we won. I told the guys in the locker room that you've got to win games sometimes when things don't go your way and it kind of gets messed up out there and at the end there, it got a lot more interesting than I thought it needed to get and certainly give Johnny [Dawkins] and his group credit for kind of continuing to battle back because, we went up 15 and after we hit a three to go up 15 and then I thought we forgot how to play basketball for a while. So, I wasn't pleased with that. I was really pleased with everything we did up to that point. NOTABLES
David DeJullus also added 19 points (four 3-pointers) and seven assists, becoming the 55th member of Cincinnati's 1,000-point club and the 35th to reach it in three years or less. His last bucket was a deep dagger that put UC up 66-62 with 50 seconds left.
Senior guard Landers Nolley II added 19 points and a career-high five steals, and the Bearcats' 16 marked their most since November 2015 while matching the most by any AAC team this year. UC utilized it for a 14-2 margin in fastbreak points.
Cincinnati was up by 16 with 10 minutes left, but UCF fought back using a 7-0 run to tie the game 60-60 with two minutes left.
The Bearcats held strong, however, with Lakhin converting a 3-point play, followed by the DeJulius trey, which gave the Bearcats a 66-62 lead with under a minute to play. UCF couldn't respond, missing all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt, sending Fifth Third Arena into a frenzy.
Cincinnati took care of business at the free throw line, and a Nolley slam sealed a 73-64 win for the Bearcats.
The offenses on both sides eased into the game as the defenses controlled the tempo early. The Bearcats recorded three steals in the first six minutes, scoring their first eight points off turnovers, including two 3's from Nolley II.
Senior wing Jeremiah Davenport drained a three, and then drew a charge at the 11-minute mark sparking a 14-0 run over six minutes for the Bearcats, which was capped off with back-to-back steals turning into dunks, electrifying the crowd, and giving Cincinnati a 24-12 lead.
The Bearcats turned defense into offense scoring 18 points off 15 turnovers in the first half, including back-to-back steals by Phinisee that led to a Davenport fastbreak dunk on the second.
Cincinnati finished the half on a 21-8 run over the final 11:26, giving UC a 31-20 lead into the locker room.
After halftime, both teams came out swinging, trading baskets back-and-forth for the first 12 minutes of the half. Lakhin led the Bearcats in the second half, scoring 13 of the team's first 20 points after the break, including the first three baskets. FROM WES MILLER "I'm really pleased that we won. I told the guys in the locker room that you've got to win games sometimes when things don't go your way and it kind of gets messed up out there and at the end there, it got a lot more interesting than I thought it needed to get and certainly give Johnny [Dawkins] and his group credit for kind of continuing to battle back because, we went up 15 and after we hit a three to go up 15 and then I thought we forgot how to play basketball for a while. So, I wasn't pleased with that. I was really pleased with everything we did up to that point. NOTABLES
- David DeJulius is now tied with David Kennedy (1977-81) for 54th all-time. DeJulius also has nine-straight games with five-plus assists and leads the AAC with 6.64 dimes per game.
- Landers Nolley II has scored in double-figures for 14-straight games, the best by a Bearcat this season.
- Viktor Lakhin registered his second-career 20-point game, with the other coming Jan. 22 against Memphis (22 points).
- Cincinnati's 24 forced turnovers is a team-best in an AAC game this season, besting the 15 turnovers forced against Temple on Jan. 1, 2023. Other games with 20 or more include Chaminade and 25 against La Salle.
- The Bearcats are 13-1 when allowing under 70 points, while also improving to 16-2 when leading at the half.