TicketsCINCINNATI – Graduate student guard Day Day Thomas poured in 18 points to lead the Cincinnati men’s basketball team to a 74-62 victory over Dayton on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 3-0 on the year while the Flyers drop to 2-1.
The Bearcats’ defense held the Flyers to 32.3% (20-of-62) shooting from the field, 7.7% (2-of-26) from behind the arc, and dominated the glass with a 43-33 edge in rebounding.
En route to a season-high 20 points, Thomas shot a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, and freshman Shon Abaev added 14. Amael L’Etang led Dayton with 14.
With 9:32 remaining, Dayton began to claw back in the second half, trimming Cincinnati’s lead to just two after an 8-0 run made it 48-46. But the Bearcats quickly answered with a 12-2 burst, highlighted by a Kerr Kriisa 3-pointer and a Baba Miller dunk, to push the lead back to 60-48 and send Fifth Third Arena into a frenzy.
“I told the guys in the locker room that will go in the book one day - to turn it over 24 times and win,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said. “This may sound crazy, but those are the best wins. Sometimes the best wins are when you can't make a shot, you can't throw it in the ocean, and you still find a way. One time, years and years ago, we coached a team, we gave up 20, I think it was 24 made threes, 16 made threes in the first half, and we still won the game. I think when you can overcome some things like that, the character piece is the part you're most proud of, and those are the ones you remember the most. But I'm really pleased that we won.”
Threes from Abaev and Kriisa kick-started the Bearcats as Cincinnati jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first six minutes, forcing four turnovers and limiting the Flyers to 1-of-8 from the field to start the game. The Bearcats continued to keep the Flyers at a distance throughout the half before Dayton, which took advantage of 14 first-half turnovers, used an 8-0 run to trim the Cincinnati lead to 29-22 with 1:11 remaining.
A 3-pointer from Abaev with 44 seconds remaining stopped the Dayton spurt but, on the ensuing possession, Miller was whistled for a foul and was given a technical after getting tangled up with Dayton’s Jordan Derkack. The Flyers made all four free throws before Cincinnati’s Sencire Harris made the first of two with 11 seconds left as the Bearcats took a 39-26 lead into the break.
Cincinnati played stifling defense in the first half as they held the Flyers to 24.1% (7-for-29) from the field and 7.7% (1-for-13) from behind the arc. The Bearcats held a 12-3 advantage in bench points and a 10-4 lead in fastbreak points but Dayton’s 12-3 edge in points off turnovers, combined with Cincinnati going 6-for-12 at the charity stripe, kept the Flyers in it.
Abaev paced Cincinnati with eight points, while Harris added seven over the first 20 minutes. L’Etang and Javon Bennet led Dayton with seven apiece.
Kriisa drilled a 3-pointer at 15:32 to put Cincinnati in front 39-31, but the Flyers responded with back-to-back dunks, including a one-handed alley-oop dunk from Keonte Jones to bring Dayton within 4, 39-35 with 14 minutes left.
After a pair of free throws from Thomas stretched the Bearcats’ lead to 10, 48-38, with 10 minutes left, Dayton used an 8-0 run to cut the lead 2 on a De’Shayne Montgomery dunk.
Fifth Third Arena erupted after back-to-back baskets by the Bearcats pushed them ahead 52-46, forcing the Flyers into a timeout with 9:06 remaining. Cincinnati increased its advantage to 15 with 3:10 remaining after a 7-2 spurt fueled by an Abaev slam made it 68-53. Consecutive free throws by Thomas sealed the win as the Bearcats closed out the game with a 12-point victory.
Cincinnati concludes its four-game homestand to start the season when it hosts Mount St. Mary’s at 6 p.m. Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.