Recap: UCF 88 Cincinnati 80
Cincinnati's season came to an end Thursday night with an 88-80 loss to UCF in the quarterfinals of the Crown Basketball Tournament.
Darius Johnson led all scorers with 31 points, including 18 second half points to keep Cincinnati from ever gaining momentum during the final 20 minutes. UCF led 38-35 at the half.
Johnson scored eight straight during a 10-0 run following Day Day Thomas' three with 4:54 remaining to turn a 1-point deficit into a 9-point lead with 2:36 remaining.
(Photo: Gobearcatsmbb Twitter - Link )
Thomas led the Bearcats with 19 points on a 5-of-9 effort from deep.
UC made 12-of-34 attempts from three and finished the game 43% from the field, but made just 8-of-14 free throw attempts.
Dillon Mitchell scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss. He also had six assists.
(Photo: Gobearcatsmbb Twitter)
Other Bearcats to reach double figures included Simas Lukosius with 11 points and Jizzle James with 10 points. James missed all six attempts from deep.
The biggest difference in the game was the play of Tyler Hendricks (14 pts) and Nils Machowski (11 pts) for the Knights. The duo averaged 5 points combined prior to the Crown Tournament, but combined for 25 points in the win, making 4-of-6 from deep. Hendricks also made 7-of-8 free throws to contribute to a 16-of-19 showing by Johnny Dawkins' team from the charity stripe.
The Knights made 10-of-30 3-point attempts and shot 47% from the field for the game.
Cincinnati won the rebounding battle, 42-38, but were outscored 32-24 in the paint. The Bearcats were also forced into 11 turnovers as UCF controlled the tempo of the game with just 8 turnovers.
The one positive for UC in the loss was the play of redshirt-freshman Rayvon Griffith off the bench.
Griffith finished with 8 points in 10 minutes and also pulled down three rebounds. UC was +2 with him on the floor.
UCF improves to 19-16 and will now face the winner of Villanova-USC in the semi-finals of the Crown Basketball Tournament. With the win, UCF is also guaranteed a minimum of $50,000 in prize money.
Game Notes:
1st half
15:47- Bearcats trail 8-3 after a 1-for-6 start from the field. Darius Johnson has scored all eight points for the Knights.
11:58- An and-one by Darius Johnson extends the UCF lead to 16-12 after Day Day Thomas cut the lead to one on the previous possession. Johnson has scored 11 of UCF's 16 points, while Thomas has 8 for UC.
6:56- UC trails 24-22 after Dillon Mitchell knocks down a jumper to answer a Jordan Ivey-Curry basket. Day Day Thomas has been on the bench since subbing out at the 12:24 mark as UC's leading scorer.
5:15- Dillon Mitchell follows a dunk in transition with a three from the wing to give the Bearcats a 28-26 lead.
4:04- Dillon Mitchell's and-one ties the score at 30. He has scored 9 points over the last 3:16.
1:54- A 6-0 run by UCF over 1:19 gives the Knight a 36-32 advantage.
0:05- Simas Lukosius misses the final shot of the half as UCF takes a 38-35 advantage into the locker room at the half. UC made just 1 of their last 7 field goal attempts, a three by Rayvon Griffith.
2nd half
14:47- UCF leads 50-46 after consecutive makes from deep by Nils Machowski and Darius Johnson. UC briefly took a 46-44 lead on a three by Simas Lukosius prior to the 6-0 UCF run over :32 seconds.
13:15- 10-0 run by UCF extends their lead to 54-46 following a steal and layup by Machowski.
11:59- Day Day Thomas caps a 6-0 run over 1:02 to cut the UCF lead to 54-52. Thomas re-entered the game at the 14:16 mark to help spark the run after going out at 17:01 with his third foul.
11:36- A step-back three by Tyler Hendricks gives UCF a five-point advantage at the under-12 media timeout. Hendricks is a 3-for-3 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line for 11 points after averaging just 2.2 points per game prior to the Crown Tournament.
10:14- Consecutive three's by Josh Reed and Day Day Thomas puts the Bearcats back ahead, 60-58.
8:02- After Josh Reed knocks down a three to tie the score at 63, he is called for a technical foul at the other end for his fourth foul of the game. Ivey-Curry knocks down both free throws to put UCF ahead 65-63.
3:48- Darius Johnson make a three to give UCF a 74-70 lead. UC led 70-69 following a corner three by Day Day Thomas at 4:54.
2:12- Simas Lukosius ends a 10-0 UCF run over 2:00 with a three to cut the UCF lead to 79-73. Darius Johnson scored 8 straight during the UCF run.
0:47- Day Day Thomas connects from deep to cut the UCF lead to 83-78. UCF has made 5 of last 7 from the field.
0:01- Darius Johnson scores 6 points over the final :18 seconds to help extend the UCF lead to 88-80 as the final horn sounded.
Postgame Video: Wes Miller, Dillon Mitchell, Day Day Thomas
Final Thoughts:
I think most fans would have preferred to see Cincinnati still playing but there is also a portion that is probably relieved this disaster of a season is finally over. Cincinnati lacked consistent offense and aggressive defense all season long and tonight was just another example of those short-comings.
Players will likely start hitting the transfer portal tomorrow and if playing time during this event was an indication of how things may go, Arrinten Page and Tyler Betsey could be the first two that make their intentions for next season known.
Wes Miller and his staff will have to make a splash in the transfer portal and land guys who fit better together, collectively. Four straight seasons under Miller without an NCAA Tournament appearance. With two seasons under his belt in the Big 12, there should be a clear understanding of what is needed to compete and win as a member of this league heading into year five.