Cincinnati Falls to No. 6 Louisville at Hoops Classic

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team battled sixth-ranked Louisville to the wire, but the Cardinals prevailed, 74-64, on Friday night at the Hoops Classic, in partnership with CareSource, at Heritage Bank Center.

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The Cardinals missed their first 10 shots of the game, but took control early in the second half, and were led by senior guard Ryan Conwell, who scored 25 points and made timely 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes. Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. added 22 points for the Cardinals who shot 48% after the break after making just 26% in the first half.

Cincinnati dropped to 4-1 on the season, while Louisville improved to 5-0.

The Bearcats were led by senior guard Day Day Thomas and freshman guard Shon Abaev, who each scored 12 points. Sophomore center Moustapha Thiam finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

After Thiam blocked Louisville center Aly Khalifa’s layup attempt at the halftime buzzer, Cincinnati led 32-28 at the break.

However, Louisville took control early in the second half.

Conwell, who scored 17 in the second half, sparked an 8-2 run for the Cardinals with a layup and a 3-pointer as Louisville took a 40-37 lead four minutes into the second half.

A 3-pointer from senior guard Kerr Kriisa brought Cincinnati within a point, 44-43, with 12:35 left, but the Cardinals answered right back. 

Louisville took a 48-43 lead 90 seconds later when Conwell buried his fourth three of the night.

A steal by Louisville junior forward Sananda Fru led to a layup by Conwell, which put the Cardinals in front 52-45 and forced Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller to call a timeout with 8:50 left.

A layup from Abaev cut the Cincinnati deficit to six, 61-55, with 4:35 left but Louisville’s star freshman guard of its own, Brown Jr., drilled a 3-pointer on the next Cardinals possession and then immediately stole a pass and dunked to put Louisville in front 66-55 with 3:25 left.

The Bearcats held Louisville without a field goal and raced out to a 15-4 lead seven minutes into the game. Abaev sparked a 12-0 run with a corner three-pointer sandwiched in between two paint buckets from.

Louisville fought back in the first half, tying the game, 17-17, with an 11-0 run of its own, which was capped by a layup from guard Adrian Wooley at the eight-minute mark in the first half.

A trey from Abaev broke the tie and sparked a 6-0 run that put the Bearcats up 23-17.

Two more triples from Thomas pushed the Bearcats’ lead to 31-25, but, like he would all night, Conwell answered with a triple for Louisville making the score 31-28 two minutes before the break.

UP NEXT
Cincinnati hosts a pair of opponents at Fifth Third Arena next week, welcoming NJIT at 7 p.m. on Monday and Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Both games will be televised on ESPN+.