Big second half rallies Cincinnati past Evansville 76-58
AP
Dec 30, 2023
Cincinnati Bearcats (AP) John Newman III scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring effort and Cincinnati rallied in the second half to defeat Evansville Aces 76-58 on Friday night.
Cincinnati, now 10-0 at home, outscored Evansville 44-18 in the second half, led by Simas Lukosius who scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.
In addition to Newman's 16 points, Lukosius finished with 15, Viktor Lahkin 11, Dan Skillings Jr. 10 and Day Day Thomas 10 for the Bearcats (11-2). Thomas added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Lahkin had nine rebounds with four assists.
Yacine Toumi had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Evansville (10-3). Kenny Strawbridge scored 14 points and Tanner Cuff added 11.
After being outshot 58% to 36% and falling behind 40-32 in the first half, the Bearcats dominated the second half.
Cincinnati held Evansville to 10 points over the first 12 minutes after halftime while scoring 28. The Bearcats led 60-48 with slightly over eight minutes left in the game. Lukosius scored nine points on 3-for-3 3-point shooting and Newman added six in the run. After Toumi hit a jumper to open the second half, the Purple Aces missed their next 13 shots.
Three-pointers from Lukosius and Newman helped put the Bearcats up 67-50 with about five minutes remaining and they led by at least 14 points the rest of the way.
The Bearcats shot 39% for the game and got a boost from a 49-29 advantage in rebounds. They had 18 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Evansville is off to its best start in several seasons, having reached double digits in wins for the first time since 2018-19. Their 10 wins so far are twice as many as last season. The Purple Aces (1-1 Missouri Valley Conference) return to conference play on Wednesday with a road game against Indiana State.
The Bearcats open Big 12 play on Saturday, Jan. 6, when they face BYU on the road.
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1st Half
EVAN
Aces
40
CINCY
Bearcats
32
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Yacine Toumi vs. Jamille Reynolds (Viktor Lakhin gains possession)
19:40
+2
Viktor Lakhin makes two point hook shot (Day Day Thomas assists)
0-2
19:26
Joshua Hughes misses two point layup
19:24
Simas Lukosius defensive rebound
19:05
+3
Simas Lukosius makes three point jump shot (John Newman III assists)
0-5
18:50
+2
Cam Haffner makes two point layup (Joshua Hughes assists)
2-5
18:50
John Newman III shooting foul (Cam Haffner draws the foul)
18:50
Cam Haffner misses regular free throw 1 of 1
18:50
Jamille Reynolds defensive rebound
18:29
+2
Jamille Reynolds makes two point dunk (John Newman III assists)
2-7
18:14
+3
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. makes three point jump shot (Cam Haffner assists)
5-7
18:06
John Newman III misses two point layup
18:06
Purple Aces defensive rebound
17:45
Antonio Thomas misses two point jump shot
17:43
Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound
17:34
Viktor Lakhin turnover (bad pass) (Joshua Hughes steals)
17:25
+2
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. makes two point jump shot
7-7
17:09
+3
John Newman III makes three point jump shot (Simas Lukosius assists)
7-10
16:52
Cam Haffner misses two point jump shot
16:50
Simas Lukosius defensive rebound
16:44
+2
John Newman III makes two point layup
7-12
16:35
Yacine Toumi turnover (lost ball) (Day Day Thomas steals)
16:27
Day Day Thomas misses two point layup
16:25
Viktor Lakhin offensive rebound
16:20
Simas Lukosius misses three point jump shot
16:18
Yacine Toumi defensive rebound
16:04
+2
Yacine Toumi makes two point jump shot (Antonio Thomas assists)
9-12
15:50
Jamille Reynolds misses two point layup
15:48
Joshua Hughes defensive rebound
15:32
Day Day Thomas blocks Antonio Thomas's two point layup
15:31
Purple Aces offensive rebound
15:31
TV timeout
15:26
+2
Yacine Toumi makes two point layup (Kenny Strawbridge Jr. assists)
11-12
15:09
John Newman III turnover (bad pass) (Yacine Toumi steals)
14:49
Antonio Thomas turnover (lost ball)
14:27
Viktor Lakhin misses two point hook shot
14:25
Bearcats offensive rebound
14:10
Simas Lukosius turnover (lost ball)
13:53
+2
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. makes two point jump shot
13-12
13:33
+2
John Newman III makes two point jump shot
13-14
13:11
Joshua Hughes misses three point jump shot
12:53
Viktor Lakhin misses two point layup
12:51
Dan Skillings Jr. offensive rebound
12:46
+2
Viktor Lakhin makes two point hook shot (John Newman III assists)
13-16
12:21
+3
Yacine Toumi makes three point jump shot (Kenny Strawbridge Jr. assists)
16-16
12:09
Dan Skillings Jr. misses two point layup
12:07
Yacine Toumi defensive rebound
11:46
Yacine Toumi misses two point layup
11:44
Josh Reed defensive rebound
11:34
John Newman III misses three point jump shot
11:32
Dan Skillings Jr. offensive rebound
11:29
+2
Dan Skillings Jr. makes two point layup
16-18
11:16
TV timeout
11:11
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. misses two point jump shot
11:09
Day Day Thomas defensive rebound
10:50
Jizzle James misses two point layup
10:48
Sekou Kalle defensive rebound
10:21
Day Day Thomas blocks Antonio Thomas's two point jump shot
10:19
Day Day Thomas defensive rebound
10:08
Day Day Thomas misses three point jump shot
10:06
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. defensive rebound
9:41
Ody Oguama shooting foul (Antonio Thomas draws the foul)
9:41
+1
Antonio Thomas makes regular free throw 1 of 2
17-18
9:41
+1
Antonio Thomas makes regular free throw 2 of 2
18-18
9:28
+3
Jizzle James makes three point jump shot (Day Day Thomas assists)
18-21
9:11
+2
Tanner Cuff makes two point jump shot
20-21
9:03
Sekou Kalle shooting foul (Dan Skillings Jr. draws the foul)
9:03
Dan Skillings Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2
9:03
+1
Dan Skillings Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
20-22
8:49
Gage Bobe misses two point jump shot
8:47
Dan Skillings Jr. defensive rebound
8:42
Tanner Cuff blocks Day Day Thomas's two point layup
8:41
Bearcats offensive rebound
8:37
Viktor Lakhin misses two point hook shot
8:35
Bearcats offensive rebound
8:25
Cam Haffner shooting foul (Day Day Thomas draws the foul)
8:25
Day Day Thomas misses regular free throw 1 of 2
8:25
+1
Day Day Thomas makes regular free throw 2 of 2
20-23
8:07
+2
Joshua Hughes makes two point alley-oop dunk (Tanner Cuff assists)
22-23
7:56
Jamille Reynolds misses three point jump shot
7:54
Yacine Toumi defensive rebound
7:38
+2
Joshua Hughes makes two point hook shot (Yacine Toumi assists)
24-23
7:17
Day Day Thomas misses two point layup
7:15
Tanner Cuff defensive rebound
6:58
Tanner Cuff misses two point layup
6:56
Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound
6:46
Dan Skillings Jr. misses three point jump shot
6:45
Bearcats offensive rebound
6:45
TV timeout
6:43
+2
Viktor Lakhin makes two point layup (Simas Lukosius assists)
24-25
6:20
+2
Gage Bobe makes two point layup (Yacine Toumi assists)
26-25
6:04
+2
Jamille Reynolds makes two point hook shot (Day Day Thomas assists)
