TicketsCINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men's basketball team was powered by graduate guard Day Day Thomas’ season-high 26 points in a dominant 91-68 win over Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats improved to 16-13, 8-8 in conference play and have won four of their last five contests. The Cowboys fall to 17-12, 5-11 in Big 12 play.
Cincinnati trailed by just one in the opening minute before taking control and never looking back. Back-to-back runs of 10-2 and 10-3 helped the Bearcats build a commanding 51-33 halftime lead. The dominance continued in the second half, as a 16-5 run pushed the advantage to 70-40. A Thomas 3-pointer with 8:22 remaining stretched the lead to a game-high 81-49, and Cincinnati cruised the rest of the way.
Thomas tied a career high with seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-best 26 points. Sophomore Moustapha Thiam was equally impressive, posting a dominant 24 points and a career-best 15 rebounds — his fifth double-double of the season and second in a row. Senior Baba Miller rounded out the effort with an all-around performance, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and a season-best-tying eight assists.
Oklahoma State was paced offensively by Vyctorius Miller, who scored 15 points.
The Bearcats knocked down 14 triples, comfortably led 43-32 on the glass and recorded 24 assists on 33 made baskets.
UC hit six of its first eight shots on its way to a 17-7 lead after a Thiam jumper less than five minutes into the game. Cincinnati continued to keep its foot on the pedal when an alley-oop dunk by Thiam off a feed from Keyshuan Tillery pushed the Bearcat advantage up to 40-22 with 4:33 remaining in the half.
Oklahoma State responded with a mini 5-0 spurt with under three minutes remaining, but the Bearcats answered right back to push the lead back up to 18 at 51-33 after 20 minutes of play.
Thiam led the way for the Bearcats in the first half with 17 points and six boards, while Miller added nine points, six rebounds and three assists. Thomas, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark on a free throw with 5:42 left in the half, poured in 11. Kanye Clary led Oklahoma State with nine.
A Jizzle James mid-range jumper ignited a 16-5 run early in the second half, with Thomas burying three triples to push Cincinnati's lead to 70-40 with 12:29 remaining. Another Thomas 3-pointer stretched the advantage to a game-high 81-49, and the Bearcats cruised the rest of the way to a dominant victory.
The Bearcats host No. 19 BYU on Senior Night at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena.