TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men's basketball team fell to the visiting Kansas State Wildcats, 54-49, on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Before the first tip, UC honored four seniors, CJ Fredrick, CJ Anthony, Simas Lukosius and Aziz Bandaogo as a part of its Senior Night ceremony.
Senior guard Day Day Thomas and sophomore guard Jizzle James both reached double-digits in scoring. Thomas started the game hot, scoring seven of the first nine points for the Bearcats before ending the night with 12. James totaled 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Cincinnati held the edge on the glass, narrowly outrebounding Kansas State, 37-36. UC outscored Kansas State's bench, 12-2, with junior wing Dan Skillings Jr. leading the way off the bench with seven points.
The Wildcat's David N'Guessan caused problems for the Bearcats all night, scoring 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, hauling in 10 rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Cincinnati fell to 17-13 overall and 7-12 in the Big 12, while Kansas State improved to 15-15 and 9-10 in conference play.
With 11:55 left in the game, Kansas State went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 36-35. This stamped the Wildcats' first lead since the 16:54 mark in the opening half.
A Dug McDaniel mid-range jumper topped a 6-0 spurt for the Wildcats, increasing their lead to seven, 52-45, with 4:04 left. James quickly responded with back-to-back buckets, bringing Cincinnati within three, 52-59, as just 1:48 remained.
With 22 seconds to go, the Wildcat's Brendan Hausen knocked down two free throws to clinch the game.
UC played stifling first half defense as it held the Wildcats to 32% (9-of-28) from the field and 23% from three (3-of-13).
Skillings Jr. came in off the bench and immediately made an impact, garnering two steals, one of which led to a fast break layup to put the Bearcats up six. Shortly after, sophomore Arrinten Page converted a point-blank shot to cap an 8-0 run by UC, extending its lead to 15-7 with 8:37 remaining in the first half.
In the dying seconds of the first half, junior wing Dillon Mitchell rejected N'Guessan to keep the Bearcats in the lead as they headed into the locker room up, 25-22.
Bandaogo scored eight of the Bearcats' first 10 points to start the second half. The Dakar, Senegal native immediately sparked the crowd after throwing down a thunderous putback slam to open the scoring.
Kansas State controlled the game for much of the second period, however. KSU outscored Cincinnati 26-14 down the stretch to erase the deficit and come out on top.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati rounds out regular season in Stillwater, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET.
Before the first tip, UC honored four seniors, CJ Fredrick, CJ Anthony, Simas Lukosius and Aziz Bandaogo as a part of its Senior Night ceremony.
Senior guard Day Day Thomas and sophomore guard Jizzle James both reached double-digits in scoring. Thomas started the game hot, scoring seven of the first nine points for the Bearcats before ending the night with 12. James totaled 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Cincinnati held the edge on the glass, narrowly outrebounding Kansas State, 37-36. UC outscored Kansas State's bench, 12-2, with junior wing Dan Skillings Jr. leading the way off the bench with seven points.
The Wildcat's David N'Guessan caused problems for the Bearcats all night, scoring 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, hauling in 10 rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Cincinnati fell to 17-13 overall and 7-12 in the Big 12, while Kansas State improved to 15-15 and 9-10 in conference play.
With 11:55 left in the game, Kansas State went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 36-35. This stamped the Wildcats' first lead since the 16:54 mark in the opening half.
A Dug McDaniel mid-range jumper topped a 6-0 spurt for the Wildcats, increasing their lead to seven, 52-45, with 4:04 left. James quickly responded with back-to-back buckets, bringing Cincinnati within three, 52-59, as just 1:48 remained.
With 22 seconds to go, the Wildcat's Brendan Hausen knocked down two free throws to clinch the game.
UC played stifling first half defense as it held the Wildcats to 32% (9-of-28) from the field and 23% from three (3-of-13).
Skillings Jr. came in off the bench and immediately made an impact, garnering two steals, one of which led to a fast break layup to put the Bearcats up six. Shortly after, sophomore Arrinten Page converted a point-blank shot to cap an 8-0 run by UC, extending its lead to 15-7 with 8:37 remaining in the first half.
In the dying seconds of the first half, junior wing Dillon Mitchell rejected N'Guessan to keep the Bearcats in the lead as they headed into the locker room up, 25-22.
Bandaogo scored eight of the Bearcats' first 10 points to start the second half. The Dakar, Senegal native immediately sparked the crowd after throwing down a thunderous putback slam to open the scoring.
Kansas State controlled the game for much of the second period, however. KSU outscored Cincinnati 26-14 down the stretch to erase the deficit and come out on top.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati rounds out regular season in Stillwater, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET.