TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men's basketball team could not overcome a hot-shooting first half by West Virginia, falling to the Mountaineers, 63-50, on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.
West Virginia jumped out to a 40-25 halftime advantage behind guard Javon Small, who scored 14 points and dished out five assists at the break. The Mountaineers shot 55% from the field and 54.5% from deep in the first half, while the Bearcats connected on just 26% of their shots over the game's first 20 minutes.
Small, the Big 12's leading scorer, drilled three 3-pointers in the game's first 10 minutes. His third shot from behind the arc put the Mountaineers up, 19-11, at 10:44 in the first half.
The Bearcats were never able to get back into the game and dropped to 12-9 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12. West Virginia improved to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big 12.
Senior guard Day Day Thomas led UC with 10 points in his first start of the season, while junior forward Dillon Mitchell grabbed 10 boards. Small finished with 19 points and nine assists for the Mountaineers.
The Bearcats cut the deficit to 12 on a pair of free throws from redshirt forward Rayvon Griffith (seven points in 12 minutes off the bench) with 14 minutes left.
The Mountaineers responded with a 14-4 run to put the game out of reach. Consecutive 3-pointers from Joseph Yesufu gave the visitors a 59-37 lead with 7:45 remaining. Griffith hit a corner 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 11, 61-50, with just over three minutes remaining in the contest, but Yesufu answered with a jumper to put WVU in front by 13.
Yesufu finished with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
West Virginia shot 49% for the game and 50% from 3 (9 of 18). The Bearcats held a 33-31 advantage on the glass but shot 31% from the field for the game.
Wes Miller on Day Day Thomas earning his first start of the season
"We have to find the right combination of guys that want to fight. It's not a talent thing or ability thing. I didn't take Dan [Skillings] out of the lineup, I put Day Day [Thomas] in. That's the truth. I could have taken anybody in the starting lineup out. I thought Day Day has shown a lot of fighting and heart in recent games, so I wanted to reward that. I thought that was important for our team. Somebody had to come out, and unfortunately, it was Dan. I'm sure that that was frustrating for him, but it wasn't that I was taking him out of the lineup, I was trying to reward Day Day. I'm trying to find combinations of fighting. I thought Rayvon [Griffith] came in and gave us some of that tonight off the bench, which was good to see."
Miller on Rayvon Griffith's performance
"Rayvon is playing with a lot of spirit, and he practices with spirit every day. He will get more play time, and we are looking for some guys that are going to fight. It was great to see that from him tonight. He gave us a lift tonight."
Simas Lukosius on the team's 3-point defense
"I think mainly it's just us not doing our part and knowing the personnel. There's things and plays that we're supposed to know how to guard, and we have lapses of concentration. We end up giving up easy threes like that, and that's been a theme for us in this past month where we've taken a dip on how we guard three-point shooters."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hits the road to face UCF in Orlando on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
West Virginia jumped out to a 40-25 halftime advantage behind guard Javon Small, who scored 14 points and dished out five assists at the break. The Mountaineers shot 55% from the field and 54.5% from deep in the first half, while the Bearcats connected on just 26% of their shots over the game's first 20 minutes.
Small, the Big 12's leading scorer, drilled three 3-pointers in the game's first 10 minutes. His third shot from behind the arc put the Mountaineers up, 19-11, at 10:44 in the first half.
The Bearcats were never able to get back into the game and dropped to 12-9 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12. West Virginia improved to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big 12.
Senior guard Day Day Thomas led UC with 10 points in his first start of the season, while junior forward Dillon Mitchell grabbed 10 boards. Small finished with 19 points and nine assists for the Mountaineers.
The Bearcats cut the deficit to 12 on a pair of free throws from redshirt forward Rayvon Griffith (seven points in 12 minutes off the bench) with 14 minutes left.
The Mountaineers responded with a 14-4 run to put the game out of reach. Consecutive 3-pointers from Joseph Yesufu gave the visitors a 59-37 lead with 7:45 remaining. Griffith hit a corner 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 11, 61-50, with just over three minutes remaining in the contest, but Yesufu answered with a jumper to put WVU in front by 13.
Yesufu finished with 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
West Virginia shot 49% for the game and 50% from 3 (9 of 18). The Bearcats held a 33-31 advantage on the glass but shot 31% from the field for the game.
Wes Miller on Day Day Thomas earning his first start of the season
"We have to find the right combination of guys that want to fight. It's not a talent thing or ability thing. I didn't take Dan [Skillings] out of the lineup, I put Day Day [Thomas] in. That's the truth. I could have taken anybody in the starting lineup out. I thought Day Day has shown a lot of fighting and heart in recent games, so I wanted to reward that. I thought that was important for our team. Somebody had to come out, and unfortunately, it was Dan. I'm sure that that was frustrating for him, but it wasn't that I was taking him out of the lineup, I was trying to reward Day Day. I'm trying to find combinations of fighting. I thought Rayvon [Griffith] came in and gave us some of that tonight off the bench, which was good to see."
Miller on Rayvon Griffith's performance
"Rayvon is playing with a lot of spirit, and he practices with spirit every day. He will get more play time, and we are looking for some guys that are going to fight. It was great to see that from him tonight. He gave us a lift tonight."
Simas Lukosius on the team's 3-point defense
"I think mainly it's just us not doing our part and knowing the personnel. There's things and plays that we're supposed to know how to guard, and we have lapses of concentration. We end up giving up easy threes like that, and that's been a theme for us in this past month where we've taken a dip on how we guard three-point shooters."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati hits the road to face UCF in Orlando on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.