Wes Miller and the Bearcats defeated Nicholls 86 to 49 on Friday night as they improve to 3-0 on the season.

The Bearcats were in control from start to finish after taking an early 6-1 lead, keeping their foot on the gas early to put Nicholls away before halftime.

The Bearcats finished the game shooting 54%/43%/64% from the field with a season high 14 blocks along the way in an all-out defensive clinic.

Cincinnati was led by senior guard Simas Lukosius who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists on 7-11 shooting, (5-7 from behind the arch).

"Simas is a sniper." joked Arrinten Page.

Jizzle James also finished with a game high 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists on 8-11 shooting, (7-7 in the second half). The sophomore point guard has been phenomenal in the second half of games this season and completely changed the dynamic of both games in the process.

However, the most impressive aspect of James's performance tonight was his relentless defense. The sophomore guard has really taken on the role of being an elite two-way player and it was on full display tonight.

"He was special guys." Wes Miller told reporters. "Not only did he defeat ball screens, but I really don't think people hit him with ball screens much. He was really good tonight on the defensive end."

Arrinten Page had his best game of his career finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and a career high five blocks. The Southern California transfer has quickly grown into his role with Cincinnati and you can really see him to start to come on the more the season progresses.

Now Dillon Mitchell, was arguably the best player on the court tonight as he finished with 12 points and nine rebounds on 6-8 shooting (75%). Mitchell's high energy changed the game immediately from tip-off after four quick points and four rebounds in the opening segment of the game.

How it Happened

The Bearcats jumped out to an early 6-1 lead with 15:45 left in the first half behind an electric start from Dillon Mitchell. The veteran forward was locked in for Cincinnati as he had four of Cincinnati's first six points, along with four rebounds in as many minutes.

Meanwhile, Nicholls struggled to find anything offense after starting the game 0-8 from the field. Should mention, that Nicholls beat Northern Kentucky 61-59 just 21 hours ago at Truist Arena across the pond. However, Rob Brown buried home the corner three to cut the Bearcats lead to four and just like that shots start to fall for Nicholls after making four of their last five shots to make this a 13-10 game with 11:55 remaining in first half.

Cincinnati rattled off nine unanswered following four straight from Aziz Bandaogo. Nicholls was looking for some momentum on the offensive end, but Cincinnati's length and size continued to cause problems for the undersized Nicholls quad in the opening minutes of this contest.

Cincinnati would end the first half on a 7-0 run as they controlled a 42-22 lead over Nicholls at the break. The Bearcats were just dominating the Colonels on both ends of the court as they won the battle of the glass 24-16 over the first twenty minutes of play. Nicholls just had no answer for the talented Bearcats squad as you could see the fatigue starting to rise towards the end of the first half for Tevon Saddler's Colonels.

Cincinnati was led by Simas Lukosius who recorded 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in the opening half. However, the difference maker was Dillon Mitchell who finished with eight points and seven rebounds in the first half. Which, for Cincinnati, that was a positive sign especially with the absence of Dan Skillings.

Cincinnati held the Colonels to just 26% from the field over the first twenty minutes of play after ending the first half 1 for their last 11. The Colonels struggled to get to their spots and you could quickly see that Cincinnati was taking advantage of their stops on the other end to say the least.

The Bearcats came out of the locker room on a 20-0 run dating back to the final three minutes of the first half. Cincinnati extended their lead to 33 with 15:49 remaining after thirteen unanswered forcing a Colonels timeout.

From there in it was all Bearcats led by Jizzle James who finished the second half a perfect 7-7 for 15 points. Nicholls just simply was worn down following the break and it clearly showed here this evening. As Cincinnati just kept their foot on the gas and never looked back after an all-around dominant performance this evening at Fifth Third Arena.

Injury updates

Cj Fredrick went down after appearing to roll his ankle late in the second half. Wes Miller noted they have no update on the veteran wing at this time, but worth noting he did not return to the game following the injury.

Day-Day Thomas was not available for the Bearcats tonight, however, went through a light workout this afternoon per sources and is nearing a potential return.

Wes Miller provided an update on Thomas on the postgame radio show.

Miller noted early this week that they were going to be overly cautious when it comes to injuries with guys like Thomas and Dan Skillings.

Miller noted that he doesn't want to play Thomas on a minute restriction although. "I don't want him to get out here and then we have to go through the process all over again."

Up Next

The Bearcats will travel across the pound on Tuesday to take on local rival Northern Kentucky as the Bearcats look to avenge their loss to the Norse back in 2022.