TicketsCINCINNATI — Fueled by stellar defense, the Cincinnati men's basketball team took down BYU 91-68 on Senior Night on Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats forced the Cougars into 15 turnovers, converting them into 21 points.
Cincinnati improved to 17-13 overall and 9-8 in the Big 12 following the victory in front of a sellout crowd. BYU dropped to 20-10 and 8-9 in the league. The Bearcats are tied with UCF for seventh-place in the Big 12 heading into the final game of the regular season.
In the opening moments of the second half, BYU star wing AJ Dybantsa’s jumper trimmed Cincinnati's lead to 43-36, the closest margin since midway through the first half. However, a 13-4 run fueled by a Moustapha Thiam slam pushed UC ahead 61-44. Thiam continued to impress down the stretch, converting a push shot with incredible touch at the rim to balloon the advantage to a game-high 24 points with 5:57 left. Cincinnati was never threatened from there as the Bearcats closed out an impressive home victory.
The Bearcats were paced by graduate wing Jalen Celestine and junior Jizzle James, who each poured in 18 points. Senior Baba Miller did it all, notching his 12th double-double of the season with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
The defense was anchored by graduate guard Day Day Thomas, junior Sencire Harris and James, who each recorded three steals, while Celestine and Thiam each added two blocks.
BYU was led by projected 2026 NBA top-three draft pick Dybantsa, who finished with 23 points.
Cincinnati's defense was suffocating for all 40 minutes, generating consistent transition opportunities. The Bearcats' 15 forced turnovers resulted in 21 points, compared to just four for BYU. UC also held a 12-2 edge in fast-break points and shot 50% from the field and 43% from three.
After BYU went ahead 6-3 on a Robert Wright III jumper at the 17:30 mark, a 12-0 Cincinnati run capped by a Miller 3-point play gave the Bearcats a 15-6 lead with 14:05 left in the half. UC then connected on four of its next five from deep, including a Thiam triple from the top of the key for a 32-18 lead at the 8:12 mark.
A Harris steal and dunk pushed the advantage to 16 at 35-19, before a pair of Aleksej Kostic threes cut it to 43-31 at halftime.
Celestine led Cincinnati with 11 first-half points, while Miller added 10 points and six boards. Kostic paced BYU with nine on 3-of-6 from deep. Cincinnati held a 10-3 turnover edge in the opening half, translating to a 13-0 advantage in points off turnovers and an 8-0 lead in fast-break points.
The second half opened with back-and-forth play until UC strung together a 13-4 run, highlighted by a Thiam two-handed slam off a Miller dish that pushed the lead to 55-42. Thiam then swatted Abdullah Ahmed's shot into the crowd on BYU's next possession, and a Thomas jumper with 13:31 remaining extended the lead to 61-44, drawing a roar from the Fifth Third Arena crowd.
Thiam kept rolling, throwing down another slam before adding a push shot near the rim to make it 77-53, forcing a BYU timeout with 5:47 left.
With 2:28 remaining, James knocked down a triple to reach 1,000 career points, and Miller followed with a slam to push the lead back to 24 at 85-61. In the final minutes, Thomas received a well-deserved standing ovation when he subbed out, and graduate Grant Darbyshire's entry with 44 seconds left sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Cincinnati closes the regular season against TCU at 2 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth.