TicketsHIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Senior wing Simas Lukosius shot 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the second half to lead the No. 18 Cincinnati men's basketball team to a 76-60 victory at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday night in Truist Arena.
The Bearcats shot a blistering 74% (17 of 23) from the field in the second half, including 78% (7 of 9) from behind the arc.
Cincinnati improved to 4-0 on the season for the third time in head coach Wes Miller's four years.
Lukosius finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3 for the game. Junior forward Dillon Mitchell scored 12 points, while sophomore point guard Jizzle James scored 11 points and dished six assists to go along with four steals. Senior guard Connor Hickman added 10 points. Lukosius is now 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) on the season.
Lukosius made four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the second half as Cincinnati opened up a 54-45 lead with 11:40 remaining in the game. He began the second half with a triple to make the score 35-28. When NKU cut the lead to 1, 41-40, he answered with a 3 to make the score 44-40.
After NKU cut the UC lead to 4 again, Lukosius drove the lane and dished to sophomore post Arrinten Page to give Cincinnati a 51-45 lead and ignite a 14-2 game-breaking run.
A 3-pointer by senior guard Connor Hickman extended the lead to 10 and an emphatic dunk by Mitchell gave Cincinnati a 12 point-lead, 59-47, forcing NKU to call timeout with 8:40 remaining in the game.
More dunks by Mitchell and senior center Aziz Bandaogo gave Cincinnati a commanding 63-47 lead with 7:21 left.
In the first half, the Bearcats held a 17-0 advantage on points off turnovers, recording seven steals and not committing a turnover themselves until the 6:26 mark. However, Cincinnati held a slim 32-28 lead at the half as NKU shot 54.2% and owned a 20-11 edge on the glass at the break.
The two teams went back-and-forth over the game's first 13 minutes. A 3-pointer by Lukosius followed by a steal and thunderous open-court dunk by James gave Cincinnati a 25-16 lead with 7:14 left in the first half.
Northern Kentucky hung around the first half by drilling a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes. NKU's Dan Gherezgher hit a 3 at 2:46 to bring the Norse within 2 and his teammate, Sam Vinson, hit a triple 10 seconds before halftime to make the score 32-28.
FROM WES MILLER
"This was good for us tonight. I thought we got better, and there were a lot of things that happened out there that we can learn from. I think Darrin Horn is going to have a heck of a team. I thought they made every shot over the top early. We had good possessions early, and they made everything. We made some defensive errors, and every time we halfway made one, they made it.
"Simas...my mom will text me tonight about him. People have asked how he's been playing and if I'm surprised. I don't put stock in a game or two, but I see him every day, and I'm not surprised there because he continues to work on his game and gets better every day. Having Day Day back was such a lift for our team. I thought he was really good at times defensively. He puts so much more pressure on the paint with his ability to drive."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati faces Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.
The Bearcats shot a blistering 74% (17 of 23) from the field in the second half, including 78% (7 of 9) from behind the arc.
Cincinnati improved to 4-0 on the season for the third time in head coach Wes Miller's four years.
Lukosius finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3 for the game. Junior forward Dillon Mitchell scored 12 points, while sophomore point guard Jizzle James scored 11 points and dished six assists to go along with four steals. Senior guard Connor Hickman added 10 points. Lukosius is now 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) on the season.
Lukosius made four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the second half as Cincinnati opened up a 54-45 lead with 11:40 remaining in the game. He began the second half with a triple to make the score 35-28. When NKU cut the lead to 1, 41-40, he answered with a 3 to make the score 44-40.
After NKU cut the UC lead to 4 again, Lukosius drove the lane and dished to sophomore post Arrinten Page to give Cincinnati a 51-45 lead and ignite a 14-2 game-breaking run.
A 3-pointer by senior guard Connor Hickman extended the lead to 10 and an emphatic dunk by Mitchell gave Cincinnati a 12 point-lead, 59-47, forcing NKU to call timeout with 8:40 remaining in the game.
More dunks by Mitchell and senior center Aziz Bandaogo gave Cincinnati a commanding 63-47 lead with 7:21 left.
In the first half, the Bearcats held a 17-0 advantage on points off turnovers, recording seven steals and not committing a turnover themselves until the 6:26 mark. However, Cincinnati held a slim 32-28 lead at the half as NKU shot 54.2% and owned a 20-11 edge on the glass at the break.
The two teams went back-and-forth over the game's first 13 minutes. A 3-pointer by Lukosius followed by a steal and thunderous open-court dunk by James gave Cincinnati a 25-16 lead with 7:14 left in the first half.
Northern Kentucky hung around the first half by drilling a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes. NKU's Dan Gherezgher hit a 3 at 2:46 to bring the Norse within 2 and his teammate, Sam Vinson, hit a triple 10 seconds before halftime to make the score 32-28.
FROM WES MILLER
"This was good for us tonight. I thought we got better, and there were a lot of things that happened out there that we can learn from. I think Darrin Horn is going to have a heck of a team. I thought they made every shot over the top early. We had good possessions early, and they made everything. We made some defensive errors, and every time we halfway made one, they made it.
"Simas...my mom will text me tonight about him. People have asked how he's been playing and if I'm surprised. I don't put stock in a game or two, but I see him every day, and I'm not surprised there because he continues to work on his game and gets better every day. Having Day Day back was such a lift for our team. I thought he was really good at times defensively. He puts so much more pressure on the paint with his ability to drive."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati faces Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.