TicketsCINCINNATI — A 55-point second-half performance from the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team led the Bearcats to an 85-53 victory over Bryant on Tuesday inside Fifth Third Arena.
Cincinnati got back in the win column and improved to 8-1 on the season. It is the Bearcats' best start to a season since UC went 8-1 to begin 2018-19.
After a cold first half, Cincinnati got hot in the second, shooting 59% and going 4-6 from deep to keep the Bulldogs out of reach. The Bearcats played a physical style of basketball all night long, going 29-37 from the foul line and 19-22 from the stripe in the second half.
Despite the early shooting difficulties, the Bearcats excelled on the glass and recorded a season-high 57 rebounds, the most since Savannah State in the 2017-18 season opener.
Cincinnati had five players in double digits as senior center Aziz Bandaogo recorded his first double-double as a Bearcat. He finished with 12 points, a season-high four blocks, and tied a career-high with 17 boards.
The 7-foot center dominated in the second half, putting up all 10 of his 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow forward redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin also did his part on the low block, securing 12 rebounds himself and added two blocks.
Graduate guard CJ Fredrick Jr. led the Bearcats in scoring with 14 points, going 4-8 from the field and 3-7 from behind the arc, while graduate wing John Newman III added 10 points in the second and finished with 11.
Sophomore guard Dan Skillings Jr., who went 7-8 from the foul line, and freshman guard Jizzle James rounded out the double-digit scores as each ended the game with 11 points.
James, coming off a career-high 19 points last time out, would continue to felicitate the offense in the second half, making a layup and then finding junior wing Simas Lukosius for a wide-open 3 to extend the lead to 47-38.
After a timeout, Thomas would extend the UC to double-digits for the first time in the game by drilling a top-of-the-key 3, giving the Bearcats a 58-48 advantage.
Three straight trips to the foul line and a fast break finish from Thomas propelled UC on a 7-0 run as the Bearcats went up by 16 with just over five to go.
A Bandaogo two-handed slam put the finishing touches on the Bearcats' dominant second-half performance that ended on an 18-1 run.
Despite shooting only 26% from the field in the first half, the Bearcats maintained the lead by controlling the boards, out-rebounding Bryant 33-21, which included 11 offensive rebounds.
Lakhin racked up 10 boards himself in the first half while Fredrick Jr. (9 pts) and Skillings Jr. (7 pts) paced the UC offense.
FROM WES MILLER
"I didn't think we played great tonight. It was just kind of one of those nights where it felt like there was a lid on it from the start of the game. It felt like, how many layups are you going to miss? How many times are you going to have a silly turnover? You have to give Bryant credit. They beat a top 25 team on the road by doing that. They do frustrate you and they do some different things right. They play five guards and pretty much everybody on the floor shoots the basketball first and the guys that don't are really good off the bounce on the perimeter."
NOTABLE
-Aziz Bandaogo's 17 rebounds matched his career-high and served as the most by a Bearcat since Tre Scott's 21 in February 2020.
-Bandaogo's 12 points gave him his first UC double-double and 18th of his career.
-Twenty-one of Day Day Thomas' 23 points the last two games have come in the second half.
-CJ Fredrick's Kentucky and Cincinnati teams are 11-0 the last two years when he makes 3 or more 3-pointers
-Bandaogo had career-highs in free-throw makes (8) and attempts (12).
UP NEXT
Cincinnati travels downtown Saturday to play Dayton inside Heritage Bank Center at 7 p.m.
Cincinnati got back in the win column and improved to 8-1 on the season. It is the Bearcats' best start to a season since UC went 8-1 to begin 2018-19.
After a cold first half, Cincinnati got hot in the second, shooting 59% and going 4-6 from deep to keep the Bulldogs out of reach. The Bearcats played a physical style of basketball all night long, going 29-37 from the foul line and 19-22 from the stripe in the second half.
Despite the early shooting difficulties, the Bearcats excelled on the glass and recorded a season-high 57 rebounds, the most since Savannah State in the 2017-18 season opener.
Cincinnati had five players in double digits as senior center Aziz Bandaogo recorded his first double-double as a Bearcat. He finished with 12 points, a season-high four blocks, and tied a career-high with 17 boards.
The 7-foot center dominated in the second half, putting up all 10 of his 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow forward redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin also did his part on the low block, securing 12 rebounds himself and added two blocks.
Graduate guard CJ Fredrick Jr. led the Bearcats in scoring with 14 points, going 4-8 from the field and 3-7 from behind the arc, while graduate wing John Newman III added 10 points in the second and finished with 11.
Sophomore guard Dan Skillings Jr., who went 7-8 from the foul line, and freshman guard Jizzle James rounded out the double-digit scores as each ended the game with 11 points.
James, coming off a career-high 19 points last time out, would continue to felicitate the offense in the second half, making a layup and then finding junior wing Simas Lukosius for a wide-open 3 to extend the lead to 47-38.
After a timeout, Thomas would extend the UC to double-digits for the first time in the game by drilling a top-of-the-key 3, giving the Bearcats a 58-48 advantage.
Three straight trips to the foul line and a fast break finish from Thomas propelled UC on a 7-0 run as the Bearcats went up by 16 with just over five to go.
A Bandaogo two-handed slam put the finishing touches on the Bearcats' dominant second-half performance that ended on an 18-1 run.
Despite shooting only 26% from the field in the first half, the Bearcats maintained the lead by controlling the boards, out-rebounding Bryant 33-21, which included 11 offensive rebounds.
Lakhin racked up 10 boards himself in the first half while Fredrick Jr. (9 pts) and Skillings Jr. (7 pts) paced the UC offense.
FROM WES MILLER
"I didn't think we played great tonight. It was just kind of one of those nights where it felt like there was a lid on it from the start of the game. It felt like, how many layups are you going to miss? How many times are you going to have a silly turnover? You have to give Bryant credit. They beat a top 25 team on the road by doing that. They do frustrate you and they do some different things right. They play five guards and pretty much everybody on the floor shoots the basketball first and the guys that don't are really good off the bounce on the perimeter."
NOTABLE
-Aziz Bandaogo's 17 rebounds matched his career-high and served as the most by a Bearcat since Tre Scott's 21 in February 2020.
-Bandaogo's 12 points gave him his first UC double-double and 18th of his career.
-Twenty-one of Day Day Thomas' 23 points the last two games have come in the second half.
-CJ Fredrick's Kentucky and Cincinnati teams are 11-0 the last two years when he makes 3 or more 3-pointers
-Bandaogo had career-highs in free-throw makes (8) and attempts (12).
UP NEXT
Cincinnati travels downtown Saturday to play Dayton inside Heritage Bank Center at 7 p.m.