Wes Miller and the Bearcats improved to 12-5, (2-4 Big 12) on Saturday after defeating Arizona State 67-60.

The Bearcats saw four players score in double figures led by Dillon Mitchell (14 points), Simas Lukosius (10 points), Jizzle James (12 points), Skillings (12 points.)

Cincinnati shot nearly 42% from the field on the afternoon, while shooting 75% (12-16) from the foul line. However, ten of those 12 free throws came over the final ten minutes of play and in the midst of an eight-minute scoring fraught for Cincinnati.

Now for Arizona State, man was Jayden Quaintance special this afternoon. The 17-year-old phenom finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks for the Sun Devils. He was everywhere it seemed as he continued to make a huge impact on this game and honestly was a huge reason why Arizona State was able to claw back into this game.

"Jayden is incredible." said Wes Miller. "He is a really nice kid that we recruited heavily and had on our campus a few times. He is a terrific kid. You can really see how much he is getting better as the year goes on. The thing that impresses me the most about Jayden is he gets every loose ball. I mean he snatches every loose ball. He is an incredible talent. He already a good player but he will be a great player."

Jizzle James Flu Game

Wes Miller noted that guard Jizzle James has been battling an illness over the last few days and was really proud of his performance tonight despite the situation that has taken a toll on him over the last few days.

"Nobody I am prouder of than Jizzle James." Miller told reporters. "He has been dealing with an illness the last couple of days and has lived in the training room. He got an IV an hour before the game this afternoon. I thought you couldn't even tell he was sick watching him play. He truly gutted one out tonight. I don't think he has slept in two or three days because he has been so sick. I'm so proud of him."

Free Throws Making an Impact.

The Bearcats continue to make a difference from the foul line, like we saw Wednesday night vs Colorado. The Bearcats went 12-16 (75%) from the foul line this afternoon, with 10 of those makes coming in the final 10 minutes of play. That was simply the difference maker in this game as Cincinnati found themselves in the midst of an eight-minute scoring draught to fend off a late comeback from the Sun Devils.

The Rundown.

It was a slow start for both offenses on Saturday as both teams combined for 2-15 from the field in the opening minutes. Cincinnati's first bucket came nearly four minutes into the game after a huge stand on the defensive end from Lukosius resulting in a layup in the open court.

Arizona State responded right after with a bucket from Adam Miller to give the Sun Devils a 4-2 lead with 15:41 in the first half. Arizona State was crashing the boards early, led by freshman phenom Jaydan Quaintaince, who had five rebounds in the opening segment.

Cincinnati made it an emphasis to push the temp coming out of the break, as Day-Day Thomas and company were looking to get downhill and attack. Thomas found a slashing Mitchell who converted through traffic for the three-point play. That in which, got Mitchell going as he had the Bearcats last five points, as they trailed Arizona State 9-7 with 11:56 left in the first half.

However, it appeared the lid was still on the rim for Cincinnati as they were held without a field goal for nearly four minutes before a James turnaround jumper. That sparked a quick seven-point swing in favor of the Bearcats forcing Bobby Hurley to call timeout after a Lukosius three made it a 15-11 game with 8:07 to go.

Arizona State was desperately searching for something on offense as they went zero for their last nine from the field. Meanwhile, Cincinnati made sure to keep their foot on the gas as the extended their lead to nine, following layups from Lukosius and Betsey.

Cincinnati's run would go on to score 16 unanswered after a midrange jumper from Thomas and three from Fredrick gave the Bearcats a 24-12 lead. Cincinnati made sure to continue to be aggressive on both ends of the court and it was clear that Cincinnati's perimeter defense was causing a lot of issues for Arizona State and the frustration would start to boil over quickly leading to a little scrum between Josh Reed and BJ Freeman as the two battled for a rebound.

Arizona State responded with nine straight following that moment following a Freeman floater. Freshman forward Tyler Betsey, would silence the Sun Devils momentum after a dribble drive from Thomas opened up a great three point shot to extend the Bearcats lead to seven. Momentum wouldn't stop for Cincinnati after two quick Arizona State turnovers led to a quick five points following the Lukosius three.

Cincinnati would hold a 36-22 lead over the Sun Devils at the half after a 12-0 run over the final 2:10. Simas Lukosius led all scorers with 10 points on four of five shooting, as the Bearcats finished the first half slashing 47%/29%/67% from the field. Meanwhile, The sun Devils were held to just 22% from the field as Cincinnati's perimeter defense was all over the place in the first twenty minutes.

Safe to say that was arguably the Bearcats best first half performance of the conference slate. As things were playing to Cincinnati's favor in just about every aspect, as they just physically dominated in the first half. Now, for Cincinnati, they would have to regain focus and continue to be locked in coming out of the break, but things were trending in the right direction to say the least for Wes Miller and his team.

Jizzle James came out and scored the Bearcats first six points to start the second half. which was a great sight to see for many. The sophomore guard was doing a great job at getting to his spot and knocking down those midrange jumpers. Arizona States offense started to wake up though following consecutive triples from Freeman and Miller that cut the deficit to 11 heading to the under 16 media breaks.

That would spark a 12-2 run for the Sun Devils after Jiahd found a cutting Mason to make this a 46-39 game with 12:45 left. Mason then drilled a contested three from the top of the key to cut the Bearcats lead to four, and just like that Arizona State was right back in this one.

The Bearcats held to just 1 for 7 from the field during that run after being held scoreless for nearly three minutes. That would end after Skillings knocked home two free throws to extend the Bearcats lead to six. However, Cincinnati would then go nearly seven minutes without a field goal as Arizona was still within striking distance.

Arizona State made this a four-point game after Cincinnati failed to grab a defensive rebound resulting in a one-handed jam from Quaintance. Cincinnati would get some light as Skillings was able to score the first field goal in nearly eight minutes following an Arizona State turnover.

Fredrick then buried a dagger three to extend the lead to nine as Cincinnati's offense was starting to come alive down the stretch. Fredrick came in and provided huge minutes off the bench after finding a sailing Mitchell for the slam through traffic to give Cincinnati a 59-50 lead with 3:21 remaining.

The Sun Devils weren't going down with a fight though as they fought until the very end. Arizona State trimmed the Bearcats lead to seven following a Quaintance layup, then forced a Cincinnati turnover on the inbounds play shortly after. Freeman would slash through the Bearcats defense for a wide-open layup to make this a 65-60 game with 36.8 seconds to go.

Up Next for Cincinnati.

The Bearcats (12-5, 2-4 Big 12) will welcome in Texas Tech (13-4, 4-2 Big 12) to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday with tip-off slated for 7pm.