Recap: Cincinnati 68 Colorado 62

Cincinnati entered Colorado Wednesday night searching for answers offensively and in need of a win after losing their first four games to open Big 12 play.

During their four-game losing streak, Cincinnati made just 23-of-89 shots from three, averaging 55.5 points per game, and 12 turnovers per game. 

(Photo: University of Cincinnati Athletics)

The Bearcats had moments where they lacked consistency on the offensive end Wednesday night, but found a way to make shots down the stretch to hold on for a 68-62 win at Colorado.

UC finished 22-of-60 from the field (37%), made 8-of-23 from outside the arc, and 16-of-21 from the free throw line, including going 8-of-8 over the final 1:04.  

Simas Lukosius led four Bearcats in double figures, finishing with 16 points, 7 rebounds making 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep.

" I have so much confidence in our players and you know Simas is not just a shooter. He's a great basketball player," Miller said following the win. " He hasn't shot it as well here over the last three weeks or so but you know, that's shooting. The best shooters in the world have stretches like that and you know it's not going to last."

Lukosius has struggled recently but buried two three's over the final 3:31 to help turn a one-point UC lead into a seven-point lead with 1:41 remaining in the second half. 

Dillon Mitchell scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and also went 5-of-7 from the free throw line. 

"You gotta step up and make free throws to win games. Guys did that tonight," Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said following the game. "

Mitchell's three- point play with 16:13 remaining in the game gave Cincinnati a 42-30 lead, the largest margin by either team. 

(Photo: Cincinnati Athletics / Gobearcatsmbb instagram)

After Colorado cut the UC lead to 55-53 with 3:02 remaining, Mitchell threw down a dunk at 2:41 to extend the Bearcat lead and make it a two possession game. Lukosius made a three on the following possession to put UC up seven.

Dan Skillings has arguably been the most consistent Bearcat during UC's four-game losing streak. Skillings scored seven first half points to give UC a 34-27 lead at the half, and finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field.

Skillings made 2-of-5 attempts from three, including one at 8:28 of the second half to give the Bearcats a 49-43 lead. UC had made just 1-of-10 field goal attempts prior to Skillings' three.

Day Day Thomas scored 10 points off the bench, making 4-of-8 from the field, while also making both free throw attempts. The senior guard played composed throughout and made several big plays down the stretch to help UC avoid a fifth straight loss.

After Colorado took a 51-50 lead at 4:20, Thomas exploded to the rim at the other end for an easy basket to put the Bearcats back on top. 

Leading 62-58 with :49 seconds remaining in the game, Thomas went to the line and calmly sank both free throws to give UC a six-point advantage.

(Photo: Ron Chenoy/ Imagn Images)

Colorado big man Bangot Dak was a problem all night for Cincinnati.

The sophomore big man scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked eight shots. Dak's play at both ends was a primary reason Colorado out-rebounded UC 41-37 and finished with 11 second-chance points.

Dak's jumper at 5:16 cut the UC lead to one, 50-49. Trevor Baskin scored in the paint on the next CU possession to give the home team their first lead of the game. 

Cincinnati was able to get in to transition, using their defense to create offense. 

"Our defense has to help turn into offense. We've really been stressing our transition offense all year," Miller said.

Cincinnati forced 15 Colorado turnovers, resulting in 18 points for UC at the other end. Wes Miller's team also outscored Colorado 16-9 in fastbreak points. 

( Photo: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)

Colorado entered Wednesday ranking second in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (77%).

Trailing 57-53 with 2:41 remaining, Andrej Jakimovksi went to the line to shoot three free throws following a Skillings foul. 

An 86% free throw shooter, Jakimovski missed all three attempts which would highlight the Buffaloes 13-of-21 finish from the free throw line. Colorado also made just 3-of-13 attempts from three.

Final Thoughts:

Up 42-30 with 16:13 remaining, it looked like UC would pull away for a comfortable win. The Bearcats proceeded to go the next 4:47 without a field goal. Leading 50-43 following a Dillon Mitchell dunk at 8:08, UC went 4:04 without a field goal as Colorado took a one-point lead. 

UC found a way to figure things out when they needed to and made their final four field goal attempts during a stretch where Colorado made six straight and 7 of their final 9 field goal attempts. There are still a lot of questions around this teams' ability to put together enough consistency offensively to compete at the top of the Big 12, but they showed improvement tonight which is all anyone can really ask for following the last two games.

"It had been a tough start for both us and Colorado the last couple of weeks. I'm proud of our guys for finding a way and staying together," Miller said.  "We had a lot of guys contribute. Our depth was a big factor. Colorado did a nice job getting back in the game with a couple of over-the-tops to capitalize on our defensive errors. It was nice to see us pull out a close game on the road, something we hadn't been able to do the last couple of weeks."

Simas Lukosius finally shook his shooting slump and got back to making the big late game shots that UC fans have grown accustomed to after his end of season play last year. 

Aziz Bandaogo has struggled to find consistency when operating in the paint with his back to the basket in one-on-one situations, but he pulled down eight rebounds against Kansas and finished with 10 rebounds against Colorado. 

The most underrated aspect of this game that most will not talk about was the defense of Cincinnati on Colorado leading scorer Julian Hammond. Hammond scored 21 points in the loss to West Virginia and 26 points in a one-point loss to UCF. He scored five points Wednesday night on 1-of-6 shooting with his other three points coming at the free throw line. 

"Great player. We saw that on tape. I give our guys a lot of credit, Day Day and Jizzle specifically. I was pleased with the job we did on him tonight," Miller said. 

Up Next:

Saturday 1/19  v Arizona State

2:00 CBS Sports

Postgame Video: Wes Miller & Simas Lukosius