TicketsCINCINNATI – David DeJulius had a performance to remember in his final regular season game at Fifth Third Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The fifth-year senior guard scored a career-best 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting and dished six assists to lead UC to a 97-74 victory over SMU on Senior Day.
The Bearcats honored DeJulius, who has started 81 games over three seasons after transferring from Michigan, post Kalu Ezikpe and guard Rob Phinisee before the game, the team's three members who have exhausted their eligibility.
Senior wing Landers Nolley II added 24 points and made 5-of-8 3-point attempts.
Fourth-year forward Jeremiah Davenport added 12 points and drilled a trio of 3-pointers. Fourth-year guard Mika Adams-Woods scored 11 points and tallied six assists as Cincinnati improved to 20-11 overall and 11-7 in the AAC.
The Bearcats made five of their first six 3-point attempts, while Nolley hit his first four from deep, in the first half as Cincinnati raced out to a double-digit lead.
The Bearcats shot a blistering 55% from the field overall and 53% from deep in the first half en route to a 51-34 halftime lead. UC shot even better in the second half (57%) and finished 56% overall for the game.
DeJulius kicked the game off with a 3-pointer on UC's first possession and Nolley drilled a pair from downtown shortly before the 16-minute mark in the first half to give the Bearcats an 11-6 lead.
After SMU brought the score within a basket, Adams-Woods and Nolley hit back-to-back treys to push Cincinnati's advantage back to 8, 20-12 with 11:54 left before the intermission.
DeJulius knocked down back-to-back jumpers to give Cincinnati its first double-digit lead at the eight-minute mark, 29-19.
Nolley's fourth trey put UC in front by 15, 37-22, with five minutes left in the first half.
Two minutes before the break, DeJulius zipped a bounce pass in traffic to Ezikpe who posterized an SMU defender with an emphatic dunk that made the score 43-28.
In the second half, SMU cut its deficit to 11 with 13:38 left on a Zach Nutall 3. However, DeJulius responded with a jumper and Davenport followed with a putback. UC remained in control the rest of the game.
Nolley's fifth trey pushed the UC lead to 72-56 with 10 minutes remaining.
A fastbreak layup from redshirt sophomore post Viktor Lakhin lifted UC's advantage to 18, 78-60, with 7:17 left.
DeJulius forced a defender to stumble with a crossover and drilled an 18-footer with just over five minutes left to make the score 83-66.
A tip slam by Lakhin gave Cincinnati its first lead of 20 or more, 91-70, with three minutes left.
FROM WES MILLER
"We know how many opportunities there are, I'm not knocking the guys that leave, but it's Cincinnati, we're going to really celebrate the guys that stayed around, and they play their last game of eligibility at home at Cincinnati, and David DeJulius has done that. I know he didn't start here, but he could have left during the transition a couple of years ago. He certainly was an all-league guy last year with the ability to leave and play right away, could have left and he stuck with Cincinnati when he didn't have to and had other options. He loves this place. He's invested. We're going to celebrate the heck out of those guys moving forward. I think you build programs with guys like that, you take steps forward and he's given his heart and soul, so I was thrilled tonight that our fans recognized him the way they did when he came out of the game. I just thought that was so special. This is just one of those special places in college basketball. Our people get it like they get it and that was a moment that he deserved. So, I'm happy for him and it didn't hurt that he goes with the career-high 30 and plays the way he does so really, really cool night for David DeJulius."
FROM DAVID DEJULIUS
"Cincinnati embraces me each and every day. I wake up with such a joy and gratitude to be here that I'm just overflowing with the fact that I need to pay back, because the city has given me so much, in Fifth Third Arena, or if I'm downtown getting something to eat, I just fell in love, and I'm not entitled to that love but they give me that. So, not only now, but I'm going forward for the rest of my life and I'm going to continue to pay it back and be a great alumni."
NOTABLES
Cincinnati heads to the American Athletic Conference Championships at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bearcats will be either the fourth or the fifth seed and play Temple on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. UC and Temple split their regular season matchups.
The fifth-year senior guard scored a career-best 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting and dished six assists to lead UC to a 97-74 victory over SMU on Senior Day.
The Bearcats honored DeJulius, who has started 81 games over three seasons after transferring from Michigan, post Kalu Ezikpe and guard Rob Phinisee before the game, the team's three members who have exhausted their eligibility.
Senior wing Landers Nolley II added 24 points and made 5-of-8 3-point attempts.
Fourth-year forward Jeremiah Davenport added 12 points and drilled a trio of 3-pointers. Fourth-year guard Mika Adams-Woods scored 11 points and tallied six assists as Cincinnati improved to 20-11 overall and 11-7 in the AAC.
The Bearcats made five of their first six 3-point attempts, while Nolley hit his first four from deep, in the first half as Cincinnati raced out to a double-digit lead.
The Bearcats shot a blistering 55% from the field overall and 53% from deep in the first half en route to a 51-34 halftime lead. UC shot even better in the second half (57%) and finished 56% overall for the game.
DeJulius kicked the game off with a 3-pointer on UC's first possession and Nolley drilled a pair from downtown shortly before the 16-minute mark in the first half to give the Bearcats an 11-6 lead.
After SMU brought the score within a basket, Adams-Woods and Nolley hit back-to-back treys to push Cincinnati's advantage back to 8, 20-12 with 11:54 left before the intermission.
DeJulius knocked down back-to-back jumpers to give Cincinnati its first double-digit lead at the eight-minute mark, 29-19.
Nolley's fourth trey put UC in front by 15, 37-22, with five minutes left in the first half.
Two minutes before the break, DeJulius zipped a bounce pass in traffic to Ezikpe who posterized an SMU defender with an emphatic dunk that made the score 43-28.
In the second half, SMU cut its deficit to 11 with 13:38 left on a Zach Nutall 3. However, DeJulius responded with a jumper and Davenport followed with a putback. UC remained in control the rest of the game.
Nolley's fifth trey pushed the UC lead to 72-56 with 10 minutes remaining.
A fastbreak layup from redshirt sophomore post Viktor Lakhin lifted UC's advantage to 18, 78-60, with 7:17 left.
DeJulius forced a defender to stumble with a crossover and drilled an 18-footer with just over five minutes left to make the score 83-66.
A tip slam by Lakhin gave Cincinnati its first lead of 20 or more, 91-70, with three minutes left.
FROM WES MILLER
"We know how many opportunities there are, I'm not knocking the guys that leave, but it's Cincinnati, we're going to really celebrate the guys that stayed around, and they play their last game of eligibility at home at Cincinnati, and David DeJulius has done that. I know he didn't start here, but he could have left during the transition a couple of years ago. He certainly was an all-league guy last year with the ability to leave and play right away, could have left and he stuck with Cincinnati when he didn't have to and had other options. He loves this place. He's invested. We're going to celebrate the heck out of those guys moving forward. I think you build programs with guys like that, you take steps forward and he's given his heart and soul, so I was thrilled tonight that our fans recognized him the way they did when he came out of the game. I just thought that was so special. This is just one of those special places in college basketball. Our people get it like they get it and that was a moment that he deserved. So, I'm happy for him and it didn't hurt that he goes with the career-high 30 and plays the way he does so really, really cool night for David DeJulius."
FROM DAVID DEJULIUS
"Cincinnati embraces me each and every day. I wake up with such a joy and gratitude to be here that I'm just overflowing with the fact that I need to pay back, because the city has given me so much, in Fifth Third Arena, or if I'm downtown getting something to eat, I just fell in love, and I'm not entitled to that love but they give me that. So, not only now, but I'm going forward for the rest of my life and I'm going to continue to pay it back and be a great alumni."
NOTABLES
- Cincinnati reached 20 wins for the 40th time in school history and the eighth time in 10 years in the AAC.
- DeJulius dished at least five assists for the 16th consecutive game – the nation's longest active streak.
- Nolley recorded his 10th 20-point game of the season.
- Ezikpe earned his fourth start of the season, and UC is 3-1 in those. He finished with six points and four boards.
- Today marked the final regular season home game in the AAC. Cincinnati will join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023, following a decade in the AAC.
- UC's 97 points were the most by the Bearcats in an AAC game under Wes Miller.
Cincinnati heads to the American Athletic Conference Championships at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bearcats will be either the fourth or the fifth seed and play Temple on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. UC and Temple split their regular season matchups.