CINCINNATI – Sixth-year senior guard John Newman III's emphatic dunk over UCF forward Omar Payne tied the game at 52-52 with five minutes left and sparked the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over UCF on Saturday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Newman one-handed slam jumpstarted a game-changing 11-0 run for the Bearcats, who improved to 14-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12. UCF dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
The Bearcats held the Knights without a field goal for a five-minute stretch at the end of the game and erased a 12-point halftime deficit without starting forward Viktor Lakhin (illness) to pick up their 12th home win of the 2023-24 campaign in front of a raucous crowd of 12,112.
The victory marked the fourth double-digit comeback this season and the seventh of the Wes Miller era.
Cincinnati shot 63% in the second half, while holding UCF to just 21% from the field after the break.
Sophomore Dan Skillings Jr. scored a game-high 21 points, including an exclamation point dunk with 21 seconds left, to cap his 21st birthday.
Newman III finished with 19 points and led a tremendous defensive effort. His dunk tied the game 52-52 and led an 11-0 run that effectively won the game.
"He was an absolute warrior," Miller said.
Skillings' layup with three minutes left gave the Bearcats a 54-52 lead.
UC forced a five second violation before Skillings Jr. buried a 3 to put Cincinnati in front 57-52 with 2:12 left.
Junior wing Simas Lukosius scored four straight points to lift the Bearcats to a 61-52 advantage.
Paced by Marchelus Avery's 16 first-half points, UCF shot 50% and held a commanding 39-27 lead at halftime.
The Bearcats clamped down in the second half, holding the Knights to just 18 points in the final 20 minutes.
Skillings scored eight of the Bearcats' first 13 points, connecting on a corner 3 and converting a three-point play after being fouled on a made layup.
UC led by as many as nine points in the first four minutes, moving ahead 15-6 on a layup by guard John Newman III.
UCF would respond with a massive 16-2 run led by Avery, who scored eight during the stretch, including knocking down two from beyond the arc.
Trailing 22-17 with to go in the first, UC would snap out of its funk as Skillings Jr.'s diving effort to save a loose ball would result in an easy slam for Ody Oguama and bring the Bearcats back with 3.
Another big run for the Knights – this time 10-0 – kept UCF in control. After Newman swished a jumper, Avery and Jaylin Sellers combined to put UCF in front 34-23 four minutes before halftime.
FROM WES MILLER
"Needless to say, I was really pleased with how we started the game. We have been really sick over the last week, players and coaches. It has bubbled up so much over the last week we've barely been able to practice this week. Viktor Lahkin tried to go through practice and tried to show up to shoot around, he just couldn't do it. I am really proud of him for just trying, that means a lot to me. We came out and I thought we played great. We subbed and I am not blaming any of the players, but then we played really poorly there on out. I was really disappointed in our transition defense and communication. I was really disappointed in our defensive rebounding and quickness to the ball. On offense we were trying to take on the 6-11, 7-footer, which were like turnovers. I'm disappointed in our first half, but I am obviously very impressed with how we came out in the second half. They were different what we prepared for as they are down two starters. I thought we found the right combinations. I thought John Newman was an absolute warrior. This will be a game in which I tell stories about John Newman years from now. I could not be more proud of Ody Oguama. All he has is come into the gym and have a great attitude and keep working. I thought his minutes and ability to match up when they went small were really important for us having success tonight."
NOTABLE
-Each of Cincinnati's four wins over the past month (Evansville, BYU, TCU, UCF) came after double-digit deficits.
-Dan Skillings Jr. picked up his fourth 20-point game of the season and fifth of his career.
-Cincinnati is 14-2 (10-2 this year) when he scores in double-figures.
-John Newman III's 19 points gave him four-straight games in double-figures. The 19 was one off his UC career-high, which is 20 against TCU this season.
-Cincinnati is now 16-5 all-time against UCF, including three-straight wins.
WATCH THE POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hits the road to face West Virginia on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) in Morgantown before traveling to Texas Tech for a 6 p.m. (ESPN+) matchup on Saturday.
Skillings, Newman Power Cincinnati to Comeback Win vs. UCF
Sixth-year senior guard John Newman III's emphatic dunk over UCF forward Omar Payne tied the game at 52-52 with five minutes left and sparked the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over UCF on Saturday night at Fifth Third Arena.
