TicketsCINCINNATI – Sophomore wing Dan Skillings Jr. scored a career-high 25 points off the bench and redshirt junior post Viktor Lakhin recorded his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Cincinnati past Northern Kentucky, 90-66, on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats improved to 4-0 on the season and avenged last season's 64-51 loss at NKU.
Thomas added a career high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Bearcats held a commanding 45-30 advantage on the boards and limited the Norse to just 20% shooting from behind the arc (4 for 20).
Sixth-year senior guard John Newman III had two steals that he finished for layups in a 50-second span to spark a 12-2 Cincinnati run in the closing minutes of the first half that gave Cincinnati a 45-31 lead.
The Bearcats came out of the break red hot, making seven of their first nine shots after the break. Thomas buried a 3-pointer and a long jumper, while Skillings Jr. had a rim-rattling dunk and fastbreak layup on consecutive possessions that sent the Fifth Third Arena crowd into a frenzy and put Cincinnati in front by 18 at the 15-minute mark in the second half.
A 3 by freshman guard Jizzle James gave the Bearcats a 20-point lead, 64-44, with 13:22 left.
The Bearcats had three turnovers in the game's first five minutes as NKU held an early 12-9 advantage despite missing eight of its first 12 shots in a back-and-forth beginning to the game.
Skillings Jr. was dominant off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench before halftime.
Lakhin's 3-ball followed by a Skillings Jr. reverse layup putback capped an 8-0 UC run that put the Bearcats in front 17-12.
The Norse missed its first seven 3-point attempts, but wing Sam Vinson's long 3 brought Northern Kentucky within a point.
UC responded with a dazzling layup from Simas Lukosius, a tip-slam from Lakhin and a corner trey from Skilling, Jr. to stay in front 33-26 with 4:02 before the break before Newman sparked the 12-2 run.
FROM WES MILLER
"Needless to say, I am pleased with the outcome of the game. I'm pleased with our play, certainly in segments. Are there some things that I'm not pleased with? Absolutely. You all know, I'll try and be positive until midnight, and I'll get real negative, but I do want to think it's so important for kids to enjoy wins. There were some good things that happened tonight, the first thing that jumps off the page to me is eighteen offensive rebounds. That's important to our team. I thought we set a tone there early. I don't like that NKU got 11 offensive rebounds, but they are top 25 in the country in offensive rebounding efficiency coming into the night. So, I don't like that they got 11, but to look down and we won the rebounding battle 45-30 tonight against a team that I really respect and a team I respect rebounding quite a bit. That was good. We had a lot of trouble last year with the match zone, I thought we did a better job tonight moving the ball, being simple, and aggressive while balancing some good shots. I was pleased with that."
NOTABLE
-Day Day Thomas extended his team-high streak to four-straight games of double-digit scoring to begin the season.
-UC is 7-0 when Dan Skillings Jr. scored in double-figures.
-Skillings and Thomas became the first UC teammates with 20-plus points in a game since Skillings, Mika Adams-Woods and Landers Nolley II against Temple in the 2023 AAC Tournament.
-Viktor Lakhin's 14 rebounds were one off a career-high, and he recorded his 10th double-double. It was his second time getting those in back-to-back games.
-Cincinnati improved to 9-1 all-time against the Norse.
-Cincinnati had 20-plus assists for the second time this season.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati welcomes Georgia Tech for a 7 p.m. matchup on Wednesday at Fifth third Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Bearcats improved to 4-0 on the season and avenged last season's 64-51 loss at NKU.
Thomas added a career high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Bearcats held a commanding 45-30 advantage on the boards and limited the Norse to just 20% shooting from behind the arc (4 for 20).
Sixth-year senior guard John Newman III had two steals that he finished for layups in a 50-second span to spark a 12-2 Cincinnati run in the closing minutes of the first half that gave Cincinnati a 45-31 lead.
The Bearcats came out of the break red hot, making seven of their first nine shots after the break. Thomas buried a 3-pointer and a long jumper, while Skillings Jr. had a rim-rattling dunk and fastbreak layup on consecutive possessions that sent the Fifth Third Arena crowd into a frenzy and put Cincinnati in front by 18 at the 15-minute mark in the second half.
A 3 by freshman guard Jizzle James gave the Bearcats a 20-point lead, 64-44, with 13:22 left.
The Bearcats had three turnovers in the game's first five minutes as NKU held an early 12-9 advantage despite missing eight of its first 12 shots in a back-and-forth beginning to the game.
Skillings Jr. was dominant off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench before halftime.
Lakhin's 3-ball followed by a Skillings Jr. reverse layup putback capped an 8-0 UC run that put the Bearcats in front 17-12.
The Norse missed its first seven 3-point attempts, but wing Sam Vinson's long 3 brought Northern Kentucky within a point.
UC responded with a dazzling layup from Simas Lukosius, a tip-slam from Lakhin and a corner trey from Skilling, Jr. to stay in front 33-26 with 4:02 before the break before Newman sparked the 12-2 run.
FROM WES MILLER
"Needless to say, I am pleased with the outcome of the game. I'm pleased with our play, certainly in segments. Are there some things that I'm not pleased with? Absolutely. You all know, I'll try and be positive until midnight, and I'll get real negative, but I do want to think it's so important for kids to enjoy wins. There were some good things that happened tonight, the first thing that jumps off the page to me is eighteen offensive rebounds. That's important to our team. I thought we set a tone there early. I don't like that NKU got 11 offensive rebounds, but they are top 25 in the country in offensive rebounding efficiency coming into the night. So, I don't like that they got 11, but to look down and we won the rebounding battle 45-30 tonight against a team that I really respect and a team I respect rebounding quite a bit. That was good. We had a lot of trouble last year with the match zone, I thought we did a better job tonight moving the ball, being simple, and aggressive while balancing some good shots. I was pleased with that."
NOTABLE
-Day Day Thomas extended his team-high streak to four-straight games of double-digit scoring to begin the season.
-UC is 7-0 when Dan Skillings Jr. scored in double-figures.
-Skillings and Thomas became the first UC teammates with 20-plus points in a game since Skillings, Mika Adams-Woods and Landers Nolley II against Temple in the 2023 AAC Tournament.
-Viktor Lakhin's 14 rebounds were one off a career-high, and he recorded his 10th double-double. It was his second time getting those in back-to-back games.
-Cincinnati improved to 9-1 all-time against the Norse.
-Cincinnati had 20-plus assists for the second time this season.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati welcomes Georgia Tech for a 7 p.m. matchup on Wednesday at Fifth third Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.