TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team took care of NJIT, 94-67, Monday night inside Fifth Third Arena. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 5-1 on the year, while the Mountaineers drop to 3-4.
Freshman guard Shon Abaev powered Cincinnati's offense with a career-high 20 points, drilling four 3-pointers. Sophomore center Moustapha Thiam recorded his second double-double of the season, contributing 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was good to get back on the count after Friday night,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said. “The thing I like is that we are having high assist numbers, which means we are sharing the ball and making good decisions. As I look down here, there are 24 assists. I think we had 18 or 19 assists Friday night, so I like that. I'm glad we got to get some extended minutes for some guys that haven't gotten to get them. I really challenged them to play Bearcat basketball and to play the right way. I think we are still learning what that means, but there were some moments tonight that you could see that happening, and that's the good stuff.”
The Bearcats set the tone defensively, limiting NJIT to 35% shooting (22-of-62) while forcing 20 turnovers. Cincinnati capitalized on those miscues with devastating efficiency, converting them into 33 points, compared to just five points off nine UC turnovers for the Highlanders.
UC's bench delivered a decisive 46–29 advantage, led by standout performances from freshmen Jordi Rodriguez and sophomore Halvine Dzellat. Rodriguez matched his career best with 10 points, connecting on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Dzellat set a career high with 11 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting.
Cincinnati dominated from start to finish, holding the lead for 39:19. The Bearcats controlled the interior with a commanding 42-14 edge in points in the paint, while also winning the assist battle 24-12 and outpacing NJIT in fast-break points, 19-5.
Graduate students Kerr Kriisa and Day Day Thomas orchestrated the offense with six and five assists, respectively, while Sincere Harris found his rhythm offensively, scoring a season-high 12 points. David Bolden paced the Mountaineers with 16.
Cincinnati missed seven of its first 10 shots from the field as NJIT held a 9-8 advantage a little more than five minutes in, but the Bearcats scored the next 13, including threes from Rodriguez and Abaev, to take a 21-9 lead with 10:24 left in the half. However, NJIT responded to score the next eight, capped by a Jeremy Clayville three, to make it 21-17 with 8:34 on the clock.
But the Bearcats answered right back, using a 10-1 spurt of their own to extend their lead to 38-23 after a Dzellat putback with 3:11 left to play. The Highlanders would get no closer than 10 the rest of the half as Cincinnati took a 42-28 lead into the break.
Thiam led the Bearcats, who held a 17-2 advantage in points off turnovers over the first 20 minutes, with nine points and six boards in the opening half. Abaev added eight as nine of 10 Bearcats who saw the floor scored. Ari Fulton led the Highlanders with 10 first-half points.
Abaev came out firing to start the second half, powering a 12–0 surge with six points and a highlight-reel dunk as UC stretched the margin to 54–31 at the 16:40 mark. A Kriisa layup sparked a 9-0 sequence for Cincinnati as 13:40 remained, increasing the advantage to 63-37.
With 6:01 left in the game, a fastbreak layup from Harris and another Abaev 3-pointer highlighted a 10-2 push by Cincinnati to give them a sizable 32-point lead as the score sat 82-50. Dzellat converted a free throw to put the finishing touches on a 27-point victory for the Bearcats.
Cincinnati welcomes Eastern Michigan to Fifth Third Arena at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on 700 WLW.