Cincinnati Bearcats hold off Eastern Kentucky, improve to 3-0
The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team flexed its depth on Sunday afternoon.
David Dejulius scored a game-high 22 points to lead a balanced offensive attack as the Bearcats closed out their season-opening, three-game homestand with a 87-69 win over Eastern Kentucky at Fifth Third Arena.
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The wheels nearly came off for Cincinnati (3-0), which ended the game on a 14-2 run to seal the victory and improve to 11-0 all time against the Colonels (1-2).
"It's really good to see us close the game out," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "It's something I think we can build on. It's good to see the team dig in. There were some frustrating moments there in the first half and throughout the second half. You've got to keep trying to become a team early in the year. They had a great preseason. They've worked really hard. But it's different when the lights come on."
Cincinnati, which owned a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points against EKU, will head across the Ohio River Wednesday to take on Northern Kentucky. The Bearcats and Norse will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. NKU (1-1) defeated UC Clermont 89-49 on Saturday.
Cincinnati stormed out to an 8-0 lead after back-to-back baskets by senior guard Jeremiah Davenport. The former Moeller High School standout scored 14 points in the first half and finished with 19.
Eastern Kentucky countered UC's early spurt with a 7-0 run to close the gap, but the Bearcats scored the next 11 points to race ahead 19-7 inside the 13:00 mark in the first half.
The Colonels went more than 5:00 of game clock without a field goal.
CIncinnati led by as many as 23 (42-19 with 4:47 to play) in the opening half before taking a 49-34 advantage into the break. Ody Oguama hauled in nine rebounds in 10 first-half minutes to help the Bearcats to a 29-16 rebounding edge (14-2 on the offensive glass) at halftime. Oguama finished with a career-high 12 boards.
"I just did my role. I did what I usually always try to do," he said. "Go out there and play hard and get to the glass."
The Colonels, led by Devontae Blanton's 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, brought out their full-court press and continued their climb back in the second half. EKU pulled to within 57-52 with 13:55 remaining after knocking down two straight 3-pointers.
After committing just two turnovers in the first half, CIncinnati had 10 total giveaways and just a 73-67 lead heading into the final five minutes. But a late surge by the Bearcats sealed the victory.
"It's good to play a pressing team early," Miller said. "It forces you to work on dealing with pressing. It's good to play a team that plays a different style of play, so when you see something like that later on, you've already dealt with it. There's definitely some good stuff that will help us down the road."
Landers Nolley II scored 14, while Mika Adams-Woods and Jarrett Hensley each added 11.
"I felt good today," Hensley said. "My mom and dad came from Kansas City, so I had to play good."
Hensley played extended minutes (20) off the bench on Sunday due to the absence of John Newman III. Hensley wished the graduate wing a "speedy recovery" after Newman missed his second straight game with a knee injury. Miller said Newman will miss "some time."
"Everybody who's watched us a year ago knows what John means to our team," he said. "It's impossible to put a value on that. There were some moments last year when we didn't have him and it was like a complete different team. It's like that now this year."
Miller did not want to divulge specifics until after he spoke to Newman. Miller did say Newman's injury isn't season-ending.
Freshman guard Dan Skillings Jr. suffered an ankle injury against the Colonels. Miller said he doesn't expect the injury to be serious.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati basketball: Bearcats defeat Eastern Kentucky Colonels
