Published Dec 4, 2022
Bearcats Down Beleaguered Bryant 97-71
UC Athletics
Staff

Freshman Daniel Skillings Jr. and sophomore Viktor Lakhin each posted a double-double and the Bearcats held Bryant to just 29% shooting in a resounding 97-71 victory on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena.

Lakhin scored 16 points, going 6-9 from the field, and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Skillings Jr. posted a career highs with 14 points and 13 boards. It marks the first time two Bearcats posted double-doubles in the same game since Trevon Scott (15/10) and Nysier Brooks (12/10) accomplished the feat in 2018.

UC held Bryant to just 20.5% shooting in the first half. The Bulldogs missed 19 straight field goals during a near-12-minute stretch and shot 3-of-24 from behind the arc as UC built a 40-24 lead at the break.

Senior wing Jeremiah Davenport (14 points), graduate guard David DeJulius (12), freshman Jarrett Hensley (10) each as six Bearcats reached double digits.

Freshman Sage Tolentino stepped on the court for the first time this season and classmate Josh Reed tied his career in points with 10, going 3-for-3 from the floor, including knocking down one from behind the arc.

Davenport buried back-to-back triples and drilled another jump shot in the first five minutes of the game to jumpstart the Bearcats' offensive attack.

UC used a 10-1 run, capped by a pull-up triple by senior Landers Nolley II, to take a commanding 25-11 lead with 7:41 left in the first half. An emphatic dunk by redshirt sophomore center Viktor Lakhin extended Cincinnati's lead to 30-13 six minutes before the break.

Back-to-back triples from Davenport and Skillings pushed UC's lead to 36-13 at 4:14.In the second half, Lakhin slammed home an alley-oop to make the score 45-24 at 18:06.The Bearcats continued to put up points in the paint, including a 9-0 run that was stated by a DeJulius lay up. Cincinnati followed that up with a 7-0 (4-5 from the field) to increase the lead to 60-38 with just over 12 minutes left in the game. A dunk from Jarrett Hensley put the finishing touches on the game as the lead grew to 30 with just over five minutes left in the game.