Xavier takes fifth straight against Cincinnati, beating the Bearcats 84-79
AP
Dec 10, 2023
Cincinnati Bearcats (AP) Quincy Olivari scored 27 points, Dayvion McKnight scored 20 points and Xavier Musketeers won its fifth straight against Cincinnati, beating the Bearcats 84-79 on Saturday.
Desmond Claude added 11 points and Abou Ousmane scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Musketeers (5-5).
True freshman backup Jizzle James scored 14 of his career-high 19 points in the first-half for the Bearcats who lost for the first time this season (7-1). John Newman III scored 18 points, Viktor Lakhin 17 and Day Day Thomas 15 for Cincinnati.
Ousmane's layup with 13:03 left broke a 49-all tie and Xavier held off Cincinnati from there.
The Bearcats went on a 14-5 run to start the second half and took their first lead of the game when Aziz Bandaogo made 1 of 2 foul shots with 16:10 remaining to make it 41-40.
Xavier responded to outscore Cincinnati 17-6 over the next five minutes and led 57-47 with 11:24 left to post its biggest lead of the night to that point.
James made a layup and a 3-pointer to bring the Bearcats within 18-17 halfway through the first half before Xavier seized momentum and outscored Cincinnati 17-10 for the remainder of the half and led 35-27 at halftime. Cincinnati missed 9 of its last 10 shots in the first half.
Cincinnati entered off to its best start since 2017-18, and a win would've mark its first 8-0 since 2012-13, its final season in the Big East Conference.
The Bearcats host Bryant on Tuesday.
Xavier hosts Winthrop on Saturday.
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1st Half
CINCY
Bearcats
27
XAV
Musketeers
35
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Aziz Bandaogo vs. Lazar Djokovic (Bearcats gains possession)
19:40
Viktor Lakhin misses three point jump shot
19:38
Quincy Olivari defensive rebound
19:28
+2
Lazar Djokovic makes two point alley-oop layup (Dayvion McKnight assists)
0-2
19:12
John Newman III turnover (bad pass) (Abou Ousmane steals)
18:49
Dayvion McKnight misses two point jump shot
18:47
Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound
18:36
+2
Aziz Bandaogo makes two point alley-oop dunk (CJ Fredrick assists)
2-2
18:12
Dayvion McKnight misses two point jump shot
18:10
Abou Ousmane offensive rebound
18:10
Jump ball. Abou Ousmane vs. Aziz Bandaogo (Musketeers gains possession)
18:01
+2
Desmond Claude makes two point layup (Abou Ousmane assists)
2-4
17:53
Day Day Thomas turnover (lost ball) (Lazar Djokovic steals)
17:53
Aziz Bandaogo personal foul
17:41
Desmond Claude misses two point jump shot
17:39
Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound
17:23
Desmond Claude personal foul
17:13
Day Day Thomas misses two point jump shot
17:11
Desmond Claude defensive rebound
17:00
Dayvion McKnight misses two point jump shot
16:58
Abou Ousmane offensive rebound
16:54
+2
Abou Ousmane makes two point layup
2-6
16:27
CJ Fredrick misses three point jump shot
16:25
Bearcats offensive rebound
16:21
+2
Day Day Thomas makes two point jump shot
4-6
16:13
+3
Quincy Olivari makes three point jump shot (Dayvion McKnight assists)
4-9
16:05
CJ Fredrick misses three point jump shot
16:03
CJ Fredrick offensive rebound
16:02
CJ Fredrick misses two point jump shot
16:00
John Newman III offensive rebound
15:58
+2
John Newman III makes two point layup
6-9
15:48
Abou Ousmane misses three point jump shot
15:46
Bearcats defensive rebound
15:46
TV timeout
15:26
Lazar Djokovic personal foul
15:22
John Newman III misses three point jump shot
15:20
Viktor Lakhin offensive rebound
15:14
Viktor Lakhin misses two point layup
15:12
Viktor Lakhin offensive rebound
15:07
+2
Viktor Lakhin makes two point layup
8-9
14:52
+2
Desmond Claude makes two point layup
8-11
14:40
Day Day Thomas misses three point jump shot
14:38
Desmond Claude defensive rebound
14:16
+2
Sasa Ciani makes two point layup (Desmond Claude assists)
8-13
14:15
Day Day Thomas shooting foul (Sasa Ciani draws the foul)
14:15
+1
Sasa Ciani makes regular free throw 1 of 1
8-14
13:59
Sasa Ciani blocks Aziz Bandaogo's two point layup
13:57
Musketeers defensive rebound
13:50
Desmond Claude misses three point jump shot
13:48
Aziz Bandaogo defensive rebound
13:35
Jizzle James misses two point jump shot
13:33
Dayvion McKnight defensive rebound
13:23
Ody Oguama blocks Dailyn Swain's two point layup
13:21
Sasa Ciani offensive rebound
13:00
Desmond Claude misses three point jump shot
12:58
Dan Skillings Jr. defensive rebound
12:53
Simas Lukosius misses three point jump shot
12:51
Dayvion McKnight defensive rebound
12:46
+2
Dayvion McKnight makes two point layup
8-16
12:25
+2
Jizzle James makes two point jump shot
10-16
12:15
Desmond Claude misses two point layup
12:14
Aziz Bandaogo defensive rebound
12:14
Desmond Claude personal foul
11:50
Ody Oguama misses two point layup
11:48
Dayvion McKnight defensive rebound
11:42
Quincy Olivari misses three point jump shot
11:40
Aziz Bandaogo defensive rebound
11:25
Quincy Olivari personal foul
11:25
TV timeout
11:15
Dayvion McKnight personal foul
11:05
+2
Simas Lukosius makes two point layup (Aziz Bandaogo assists)
12-16
10:55
+2
Sasa Ciani makes two point layup (Trey Green assists)
12-18
10:44
+2
Jizzle James makes two point layup
14-18
10:28
Gytis Nemeiksa misses two point jump shot
10:26
Aziz Bandaogo defensive rebound
10:11
+3
Jizzle James makes three point jump shot (Simas Lukosius assists)
17-18
9:59
Aziz Bandaogo shooting foul (Quincy Olivari draws the foul)
9:59
+1
Quincy Olivari makes regular free throw 1 of 2
17-19
9:59
+1
Quincy Olivari makes regular free throw 2 of 2
17-20
9:31
Simas Lukosius misses three point jump shot
9:29
Dayvion McKnight defensive rebound
9:26
Day Day Thomas personal foul
9:15
+3
Dayvion McKnight makes three point jump shot (Lazar Djokovic assists)
17-23
8:57
Jizzle James misses two point layup
8:55
Abou Ousmane defensive rebound
8:42
John Newman III personal foul (Desmond Claude draws the foul)
8:37
Dayvion McKnight turnover (CJ Fredrick steals)
8:27
Jizzle James misses three point jump shot
8:25
Dayvion McKnight defensive rebound
8:05
Dailyn Swain turnover (traveling)
7:53
CJ Fredrick misses three point jump shot
7:51
Quincy Olivari defensive rebound
7:25
Viktor Lakhin shooting foul (Quincy Olivari draws the foul)