Bearcats take down the Flyers 74-62, improve to 3-0

Cincinnati’s Men’s Basketball team improved to 3-0 on Tuesday following their 74-62 victory over Dayton at Fifth Third Arena.

“I told the guys in the locker room. This win may be one for the record books. You turn the ball over 24 times and still find a way to win.” Wes Miller told reporters. “However, this may sound crazy, but those are the best kind of wins as a coach. I think when you can overcome some stuff like that, the character piece is the part I am proud of and what you remember the most.”

The Bearcats were led by veteran guard Day-Day Thomas, who finished with a game-high 20 points, on 3-6 shooting (12-12 Free Throws). However, it wasn’t just his presence to knock down shots that helped Cincinnati on Tuesday night. It was his defensive presence as well as he held Dayton’s leading scorer, Javon Bennett, to just 12 points on 3-15 shooting (1-10 from deep).

“If I tried to talk about Day-Day Thomas in a couple of sentences, it really wouldn’t do much justice.” Wes Miller said. “He is the heart and soul of this group, and you guys know that. I thought he was terrific tonight. That was such a fun matchup tonight between him and Javon. We weren’t good on the free throw line, but Thomas stepping up and going 12-12, I was very proud of that.”

Shon Abaev finished with 14 points, while Kerr Kriisa added nine points and eight assists in the victory.

How it Happened.

Shon Abaev wasted no time putting the Bearcats on the board, knocking down a contested three on his first attempt. It was an NBA-level shot, as the freshman looked to bounce back after a 1-6 outing Friday against Georgia State. Keer Kriisa hit his first field goal as well, giving the Bearcats an early 6-2 lead over the Flyers.

The Bearcats extended their lead to six, as they led the Flyers 10-4 at the under-16 media stop. However, the Flyers struggled offensively in the opening segment, shooting just 1 for 6 in the first four minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Bearcats were shooting 60% from the field, with six of their first 10 points coming from deep. Now, the Flyers forced three early turnovers, but failed to capitalize in the opening moments here at Fifth Third Arena.

Cincinnati pushed its lead to 11 after Jalen Celestine hit his first shot, then added a quick transition bucket by McKinley after a great find from Sencire Harris. That run forced a Flyers timeout with the Bearcats up 15-4. Harris then knocked down two free throws to make it 17-4, with just over 14:30 left in the half.

Day-Day Thomas extended the Bearcats' lead back to double-digits after a corner three. Moustaphia Thiam secured his first points of the night. The Bearcats then extended their lead to 25-10 with over ten minutes to play after Thiam racked up a quick three points following the intentional foul on Jacob Conner.

The Bearcats' offense then stalled out over the course of the next six minutes, scoring just four points in that span following a big dunk from Abaev. Despite the offensive struggles, Dayton couldn’t find their rhythm as it trailed 29-17 with 3:59 remaining in the first half.

Then, a four-point run sparked a Cincinnati timeout following the lay-up from Keonte Jones as Cincinnati saw its lead cut to single digits. Then things got chippy after Abaev knocked down another step back three. The following possession, Baba Miller and Jordan Derkack had to be separated after a tussle under the basket. Miller was then hit with a common foul, plus a technical, giving him three fouls with just over a minute to play, which wasn’t ideal.

Despite the momentum shifting in favor of the Flyers, the Bearcats controlled a 33-26 lead at the break. Now, 14 first-half turnovers for Cincinnati weren’t exactly ideal, but the Flyers failed to execute down the stretch as they finished just 1-for-9 over the final three minutes.

Cincinnati was led by freshman forward Shon Abaev, who had a team-high eight points, while Sencire Harris contributed seven. Meanwhile, Kerr Kriisa anchored the offense, dishing out six assists over the span of 15 minutes in the first half, which was one of the positives to take away.

Dayton came out of the half swinging as Dayton came out swinging early as they trimmed the Bearcats' lead to four following a Jones slam off the turnover from Kriisa. On the other hand, not an ideal start for the Bearcats on the offensive side of things, as they were just 1-for-six to open the second half.

Thomas gave the Bearcats a 48-38 lead after knocking down a pair of free throws with just over ten minutes remaining to cap off a five-point swing. That was before the Flyers responded with eight unanswered to cut the lead to two.

Cincinnati responded with a 12-2 run with highlight reels from Kriisa and Baba Miller. Kriisa found Miller for a huge slam to start the run. Thomas and Kriisa both knocked down a pair of triples, and just like that, it was back to a double-digit lead in favor of the Bearcats with 6:19 to play.

That was the run that sealed the game for the Bearcats as they held on to defeat the Flyers 74-62 to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Up Next

The Bearcats will be back at Fifth Third Arena this Sunday at 6pm when they welcome in Mount Saint Mary for an evening showdown.