TicketsWACO, Texas – Two second-half pendulum runs, the latter by No. 14 Baylor, allowed the Bears to hold off an impressive Cincinnati rally in a 62-59 defeat on Saturday night.
Dan Skillings Jr. led all scorers with 24 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from deep. It was his 13th double-figure scoring effort (ninth this season), and UC's first loss in such games. Of his 17 second-half points, seven came in the final 2:54.
A 7-0 run over 1:07, capped by Skillings' breakaway dunk off a Simas Lukosius steal on the opposite baseline, forced a Baylor timeout at 17:13, down 36-29 with the largest separation by either team.
The Bears responded with 13-straight to take a 44-38 lead with 10:13 left.
Skillings' third trey of the night pulled the Bearcats within 53-50 at 4:37, but the Bears came back with a bucket down low.
Skillings' 3-pointer, followed by a Lakhin steal and Skillings layup with the foul, brought UC within 59-55 at 2:28. Two more free-throws by Skillings seven seconds later made it a 59-57 deficit at 2:20.
Day Day Thomas' driving layup at 1:44 made it a one-point deficit. Baylor missed a jumper from the elbow, and Cincinnati called timeout with 20 seconds left in its front court. Three missed treys in the final moments sandwiched two Baylor free-throws to close it out.
Jamille Reynolds' six-straight points off the bench helped UC to a 15-12 lead in the first seven minutes.
Skillings' 3-pointer from the wing gave the Bearcats a 25-21 lead late, their largest of the night. It was a 27-all draw at the break.
FROM WES MILLER
"I'm certainly disappointed in the result. We've lost two one-possession games in three or four days. It's frustrating, and we feel we had chances to win both of them. We're in the best league in college basketball. We don't have the ability to let our heads down. We have an opportunity Tuesday night (against TCU). There are some positive things we can take, and our fight was excellent. There are some things we can do better...that we have to learn from and get better at."
NOTABLE
-Dan Skillings Jr. made his second-career start in place of injured Aziz Bandaogo (also at BYU on Jan. 6).
-Skillings scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season and 13th overall. It was Cincinnati's first loss in those games.
-Day Day Thomas' 15 points were his most in a Big 12 game so far.
-Both teams had 32 rebounds. Cincinnati has not lost the glass once this year.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts TCU on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Dan Skillings Jr. led all scorers with 24 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from deep. It was his 13th double-figure scoring effort (ninth this season), and UC's first loss in such games. Of his 17 second-half points, seven came in the final 2:54.
A 7-0 run over 1:07, capped by Skillings' breakaway dunk off a Simas Lukosius steal on the opposite baseline, forced a Baylor timeout at 17:13, down 36-29 with the largest separation by either team.
The Bears responded with 13-straight to take a 44-38 lead with 10:13 left.
Skillings' third trey of the night pulled the Bearcats within 53-50 at 4:37, but the Bears came back with a bucket down low.
Skillings' 3-pointer, followed by a Lakhin steal and Skillings layup with the foul, brought UC within 59-55 at 2:28. Two more free-throws by Skillings seven seconds later made it a 59-57 deficit at 2:20.
Day Day Thomas' driving layup at 1:44 made it a one-point deficit. Baylor missed a jumper from the elbow, and Cincinnati called timeout with 20 seconds left in its front court. Three missed treys in the final moments sandwiched two Baylor free-throws to close it out.
Jamille Reynolds' six-straight points off the bench helped UC to a 15-12 lead in the first seven minutes.
Skillings' 3-pointer from the wing gave the Bearcats a 25-21 lead late, their largest of the night. It was a 27-all draw at the break.
FROM WES MILLER
"I'm certainly disappointed in the result. We've lost two one-possession games in three or four days. It's frustrating, and we feel we had chances to win both of them. We're in the best league in college basketball. We don't have the ability to let our heads down. We have an opportunity Tuesday night (against TCU). There are some positive things we can take, and our fight was excellent. There are some things we can do better...that we have to learn from and get better at."
NOTABLE
-Dan Skillings Jr. made his second-career start in place of injured Aziz Bandaogo (also at BYU on Jan. 6).
-Skillings scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season and 13th overall. It was Cincinnati's first loss in those games.
-Day Day Thomas' 15 points were his most in a Big 12 game so far.
-Both teams had 32 rebounds. Cincinnati has not lost the glass once this year.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts TCU on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.