Bearcats' bully Detroit Mercy, win 93-61

by Ryan Roberts

The Cincinnati Basketball Tournament, presented by Allegiant Air, began Friday night against Detroit Mercy.

Wes Miller's squad entered the game 1-0 fresh off a 69-58 win over UIC to start the season, while Detroit Mercy was coming off a 94-60 loss to Toledo.

(Photo Credit: Brandon Wesson - Wessography)

John Newman got the Bearcats on the board just 14 seconds in to the game with a corner three and the Cats were off and running. After Simas Lukosius came off the bench and buried another 3 at the 16:15 mark, the Cats led 8-0 as Detroit Mercy had failed to convert a field goal on their first 6 attempts.

CJ Fredrick made his first start as a Bearcat and it didn't take long for him to pick up where he left off in game 1 from outside. 

Fredrick knocked down his first three point attempt and then converted another three on the next possession, while being fouled on the attempt. Fredrick missed the free throw attempt but converted a runner from wing on the next possession for a personal 8-0 run. Just like that, the Cats led 16-3 with 14:04 remaining in the 1st half.

Detroit Mercy would convert their first field goal attempt of the game at the 13:47 mark of the 1st half to cut the deficit to 10, 16-6.

That 3 by Donovann Toatley would kick start a 9-2 Detroit Mercy run. Jayden Stone and Edoardo Del Cadia knocked down 3's on the next two Titan possessions to cujt the deifict to 18-12 with 11:27 remaining in the first half. 

John Newman III played just 11 minutes last season. Wes Miller mentioned all off season how much his presence meant to this team.

With Cincinnati needing a bucket, Newman took his man off the dribble and threw down a hard tomahawk jam. Moments later, Newman buried back to back three's. With 7:23 left in the half, Cincinnati led 30-17 and Newman was up to 11 points.

 

 

CJ Fredrick buried his third three of the half out of the media timeout and Josh Reed connected from the corner for the Bearcats 8th three pointer of the half. After Detroit closed to within 6, Cincinnati responded with a 23-9 run to take a 41-21 lead with 4:07 left in the half. 

The Cats would continue to pour it on.

Jizzle James connected from 3 and scored on a tough finish on the next possession. Dan Skillings followed that personal 5-0 run by James with a personal 6-0 run of his own, connecting on back to back 3's from the wing to extend the Bearcats lead to 52-23.

With 1:23 remaining in the first half, Cincinnati had connected on 11 of 19 shots from beyond the arc and were out rebounding Detroit Mercy 22-11; 

UC closed out the half with a Day Day Thomas step back 3, their 13th of the half, and led 60-27 at the break. 

 

 

UC shot 62% from the field in the first half but 28 bench points and 12 points off 7 Detroit Mercy turnovers were also contributing factors for the Bearcats to turn a close game in to an absolute blow out.

Midway through the second half, UC had five different guys in double figures and had extended their lead to 77-37.

By the time the final horn sounded, Cincinnati had put 6 different guys in double figures and walked off the court with a 93-61 victory.

Final Stats and Thoughts:

- CJ Fredrick led all Bearcat scorers with 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting from 3 and 5 of 6 shooting from the field. Fredrick has been extremely efficient through the first two games and brings a different dynamic to this offense.

- John Newman has looked like the explosive version of himself that he built his reputation on early in his career. He finished tonight with 13 points, 8 rebounds 

- Jizzle James looked like the game slowed down for him tonight. The talented freshman finished with 13 points and 3 assists. 

- Day Day Thomas and Dan Skillings both had solid performances again tonight as well. Both had 11 points with Skillings again pulling down 8 rebounds for the second consecutive game. 

- Rounding out the double figure scorers was Simas Lukosius. The Butler transfer finished with 10 points on 4 of 8 shiooting and added 5 assists.

- UC out rebounded Detroit 52-26 and had 23 assists on 35 made baskets. 

- Josh Reed didn't have a great shooting night but finished with 12 rebounds and 5 assists. With Cincinnati waiting on the status of Jamille Reynolds and Aziz Bandaogo to become more clear, having a guy like Reed crash the boards is an important aspect of the depth of this team.

- The Bearcats were 5 of 25 from 3 in game one. They responded by making 16 of 34 attempts in game two.

Up Next:

Cincinnati will host Eastern Washington Sunday at noon. Eastern Washington is 0-2 after tonight's 75-64 loss to Ole Miss. 

 

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