TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s basketball team fell to Xavier 79-74 on Friday night at the Cintas Center in the annual Skyline Chili Shootout.
The Musketeers were led by forward Tre Carroll, who scored 30 points on 14-of-23 shooting. Cincinnati forward Baba Miller displayed an all-around performance as he notched his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 10 points, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds, and dishing five assists.
Carroll and Miller, former Florida Atlantic teammates, battled all game.
Guards Shon Abaev and Day Day Thomas both notched double-figure scoring performances. Abaev poured in 16 points, knocking down 4-of-7 from long range. Thomas tallied 15.
The Bearcats dropped to 6-3 on the season, while the Musketeers improved to 7-3.
Trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, Cincinnati clawed all the way back and took a 68-67 lead on a corner 3-pointer from senior forward Jalen Celestine with 2:39 left in the game. However, Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin answered with a triple of his own to put the Musketeers up by 2.
After an errant pass, Xavier moved in front, 72-68, on a layup from Carroll with 90 seconds left. After a Thomas layup brought the Bearcats within 2, Carroll connected on another bucket. Two free throws from Xavier guard All Wright put the home team in front by 6 with 41 seconds left.
The Musketeers shot 57.1% in the second half and registered only four turnovers for the game.
After Cincinnati scored the first basket of the second half on an alley-oop from senior point guard Kerr Kriisa to sophomore center Moustapha Thiam, Xavier’s Carroll ignited a 13-0 run to give the Musketeers a commanding 50-39 lead with 14:33 remaining in the game.
Carroll made four consecutive shots over a two-minute stretch, and Xavier forward Jovan Milicivec converted a three-point play to stretch the run to 11-0. Another Carroll jumper put the host in front by 11.
After UC cut the deficit to 7, Milicivec and Roddie Anderson III connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to put Xavier back in front by 13 – 56-43 – with 12:19 left.
A deep 3 and a paint jumper by Thomas sparked a 9-2 run to get the Bearcats back in the game. Celestine’s second 3-pointer of the night brought UC within six, 58-52, with 8:17 left.
Abaev’s corner triple following an offensive rebound by redshirt freshman Tyler McKinley on a free throw brought UC within 3, 62-59, with 5:55 left.
After a Carroll basket, Kriisa’s deep triple brought UC within 2, 65-63, at the 4:47 mark in the second half.
Celestine brought the Bearcats all the way back with his corner 3 minutes later, but Carroll made shots down the stretch like he did all night to seal the win for Xavier.
The Bearcats trailed by as many as six in the first half, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Abaev tied the game 28-28 seven minutes before halftime.
Three minutes later, five consecutive points from Kriisa, including a 3, put Cincinnati in front 37-35 at the two-minute mark in the first half.
A jumper by Carroll tied the game 37-37 heading into the break.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will now head to Atlanta, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET.