Wes Miller and the Bearcats improved to (13-9, 3-8 Big 12) on Wednesday night after to defeating Central Florida (13-9, 4-7 Big 12) 93-83 to secure their first quad one victory of the season.

Cincinnati finished the night with four players in double figures was led Day-Day Thomas who finished with a team high 20 points on 9-15 shooting. Meanwhile, for Cincinnati, this is the first time in conference play this season that four players have scored in double figures for the Bearcats.

Cincinnati finished the night shooting 58% from the floor, which was a very good sign heading into the back half of conference play, Meanwhile, Cincinnati scored a season high 56 points in the paint which was a great sign to see as well.

Dillon Mitchell finished the game with 19 points and six rebounds on an efficient 9-14 (64%) shooting, Mitchell was everywhere for the Bearcats and his tenacious energy was something Cincinnati was desperate searching for, especially after the loss to West Virginia.

Jizzle James finished with 15 points on the night, with 11 of those coming in the second half. The Orlando native was able to have a huge bounce back performance following his 0-8 night vs West Virginia.

Between, James and Thomas, the Bearcats back court really set the tone tonight as the rest of the team went as they went. Their ability to get inside and attack the rim was crucial and something that Cincinnati knew they had to do in order to win heading into tonight.

"I thought Day-Day set the tone in the first half," Central Florida head coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters. "I thought that steadied them at that guard position to see them have confidence with the balling going in. Cincinnati has two really good guards in Thomas and James, who provide quality experience. Their ability to get in the paint was the difference tonight. They are both great midrange players who can knock down shots. If they can get all the way to the rim they will make baskets."

Aziz Bandaogo also chimed in with 16 points and 6 rebounds in the victory, which was the most in conference play this season.

Bob Huggins support in Wes Miller and Cincinnati.

Former Cincinnati and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was in Orlando this evening to support the Bearcats, per radio and color

"Bob Huggins came in the locker room before the game to see me. Guys, if you have been alive on this earth in the last forty years and think about Cincinnati, Bob Huggins is the first guy you think about," Wes Miller told reporters.

"Not sure if you guys saw, but he had a Cincinnati shirt on as well. Now, to have his support, that is the kind of stuff that touches me. I don't take that lightly, whether it's Mick Cronin, Bob Huggins and long list of former players, those guys have been supportive. Not, just when things are going well either, they been supportive when things have gone bad too. I don't think you can have a higher drive than me, but you then get the highest drive and feel a little extra and feel responsibility. I told Bob to come talk to the team which was really neat for them too. That kind of stuff means a lot to me. I can't put it into words what it means for someone in his position to come and support me and this program."

Dillon Mitchell Injury Update.

Cincinnati junior forward Dillon Mitchell went down late in the second half with what looked to be a non-contact knee injury on a breakaway dunk attempt. Meanwhile, you could hear a pin drop in Addition Financial Arena while trainers looked at Mitchell for several minutes before making way to the Cincinnati locker room.

However, Mitchell returned moments later and finished the game for Cincinnati, which was huge sigh of relief after seeing the injury happen.

Wes Miller gave an update on Mitchell following the Bearcats victory.

"He caught the pick six on the out of bounds play. Everyone knows he is about 100% when he gets in the open court. The thing I was telling myself was alright don't be too flashy and get two points because you know he is going to jump over the rim better than anyone in college basketball. He jumped so far out that his leg buckled, and I was scared to death, actually I think everyone was."

"We were really cautious with him. He felt like he could come back in after it. I thought he looked great when he came back in the game. He had a couple dunks and moved really well defensively. I don't think our training staff would have allowed him to come back in the game if it was anything serious, they are very cautious as they should be."

The Rundown

The Knights jumped out to an early 7-2 lead over the Bearcats after Hall found a soaring Thiam for the easy slam out of the high pick and roll look. Hall, the Big 12 leading scorer wasted no time getting his own after a corner three.

Cincinnati was having a hard time defending Thiam in the high pick and roll action in the opening segments after consecutive possessions of a defensive lapse resulting in two dunks. Cincinnati was going to have to make an adjustment quick or else it could open a lot up for the Knights. However, the Bearcats responded after a huge slam from Bandaogo off the James feed through contact to make this a 9-6 game with 15:39 left in the first half.

Mitchell would then cut the Knights lead to two, after a great penetration drive to get an easy look for the left-handed floater. That sparked the Bearcats offense as twelve of their first 14 points came in the paint, as Miller and his team made it an emphasis to put pressure on the rim. The following possession Cincinnati Thomas connected with Mitchell on the back door cut for the easy slam to give the Bearcats their first led of the night.

The Bearcats extended their lead to four, after Darius Johnson was hit with the flagrant one foul on Thomas. Meanwhile, the Knights offense finally woke up after missing nine straight before an Ivey-Curry triple. Cincinnati responded with four quick points after consecutive possession resulted in lay-ups.

Thomas continued to lead the Bearcats offense as he was doing it all for Cincinnati. The senior guard was doing a great job blowing past the initial defender and finding great looks at the rim early. Meanwhile, Thomas was anchoring the Bearcats offense in the first half as a made three from the top of the key forced a Knights timeout, trailing 30-24.

Now, the Knights responded to the Bearcats run, knocking down four straight field goals to tie the game at 32 following a crafty layup from Darius Johnson. However, the Bearcats kept the energy going after Thomas rattled home the final four points, after a huge offensive putback at the Buzzer gave the Bearcats a 40-36 lead at the break.

Thomas led the Bearcats with 18 points on 8-11 shooting, and was simply the difference maker for the Bearcats over the first twenty minutes.

Cincinnati finished the first half slashing 56% from the field, with 26 of their forty points coming in the paint. The Bearcats took advantage of the Knights offensive struggles and really opened this one up, scoring their most points in a half since the Texas Tech game.

Meanwhile, the Knights fought back after knocking down five of their last seven shots to close the gap on the Bearcats. Keyshawn Hall led the Knights with 10 points, while Darius Johnson, Thiam and Ivey-Curry added six a piece.

My first half thoughts?

The Bearcats came out with great energy, and it all started with Thomas at the point guard position. I loved the way the Bearcats were attacking the paint and playing with great energy, especially following the showing they had on Sunday vs West Virginia, that was a huge positive.

It seemed like the Bearcats were playing with a chip on the shoulder, and respectfully so following four straight losses. That was the difference as they were just loose and playing fun and competitive basketball. You could clearly see this team found their confidence early in the first half after shots started to fall.

2nd half recap

The Bearcats offense started to click out of the locker room, after Bandaogo gave the Bearcats a 48-42 lead following the Knights turnover. Bandaogo, then converted a huge and-1 on the ensuing possession to spark some light for Cincinnati. The Knights, continued to be sloppy with the ball and the Bearcats were taking advantage of the opportunities on the other end.

Keyshawn Hall and the Knights offense quickly woke up after consecutive layups to cut the lead to two. Cincinnati responded after two huge, contested threes from freshman sharpshooter Tyler Betsey, who opened the game back up for the Bearcats. Thomas, then found Mitchell for the poster slam over Thiam to give the Bearcats a 58-51 lead with just over twelve minutes to play.

Cincinnati woke up on the offense end as they continued to pound the ball inside. A run that started with Mitchell catching his second poster dunk of the night over Keyshawn Hall. That was a run Cincinnati needed as they continued to dominant the paint, and the Knights had no answer.

Momentum then changed quickly for Cincinnati, after Mitchell came away with a huge steal and what would have been a wide-open dunk in transition but missed and quickly saw the life get sucked out of Cincinnati. Mitchell would stay down and be helped to the locker room with no pressure on his leg after what looked to be a non-contact knee injury.

The Knights were doing all they can on the offensive end after cutting the lead to six following a Johnson layup. Meanwhile, Tyler Betsey responded with a great midrange floater to stop the bleeding. Cincinnati then saw their largest lead of the Knight with six minutes to go after Skillings buried a huge corner three over the 7'2" Thiam to give Cincinnati a 75-66 lead with 6:17 left to play.

Cincinnati, then got a huge sigh of relief after Mitchell went down, as the forward checked back into the game with 6:19 left in the second half. Mitchell wasted no time getting back to where he left off after drawing a huge foul on the first offensive possession, where he went one of two from the line.

The Knights cut the lead to five, before Skillings came up with a huge and-1 opportunity to make this a 79-71 game with five minutes to play. The Knights weren't shying away though, after a thiam three cut the lead to six with just over three minutes to play. Hall continued to will the Knights down the stretch, but Cincinnati put a damper into the Knights night shortly after.

James would go on a personal six-to-zero run to extend the Bearcats lead to 87-77 with 1:42 to go forcing a timeout from Johnny Dawkins. A great sight to see for Cincinnati, as the sophomore guard changed the game in the second half, after Thomas had a big first half.

Cincinnati would continue to bring the pressure on the Knights resulting in consecutive turnovers after a Johnson three made this a seven-point game. However, those turnovers turned out to be quite costly for the Knights as both resulted in transition dunks for Mitchell, that would seal the deal for Cincinnati.

Up Next

The Bearcats (13-9, 3-8 Big 12) will return to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, as they welcome in BYU (15-7, 6-5 Big 12) with tip-off set for 6 pm.