Big second half rallies Cincinnati past Evansville 76-58
CINCINNATI (AP) John Newman III scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring effort and Cincinnati rallied in the second half to defeat Evansville 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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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Â | Yacine Toumi vs. Jamille Reynolds (Viktor Lakhin gains possession) | Â |
| 19:40 | | +2 | Viktor Lakhin makes two point hook shot (Day Day Thomas assists) | 0-2 |
| 19:26 |  | Â | Joshua Hughes misses two point layup | Â |
| 19:24 | | Â | Simas Lukosius defensive rebound | Â |
| 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 | | Â | John Newman III shooting foul (Cam Haffner draws the foul) | Â |
| 18:50 | | Â | Cam Haffner misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | Â |
| 18:50 | | Â | Jamille Reynolds defensive rebound | Â |
| 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 | | Â | John Newman III misses two point layup | Â |
| 18:06 | | Â | Purple Aces defensive rebound | Â |
| 17:45 | | Â | Antonio Thomas misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 17:43 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound | Â |
| 17:34 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin turnover (bad pass) (Joshua Hughes steals) | Â |
| 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 | | Â | Cam Haffner misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 16:50 | | Â | Simas Lukosius defensive rebound | Â |
| 16:44 | | +2 | John Newman III makes two point layup | 7-12 |
| 16:35 | | Â | Yacine Toumi turnover (lost ball) (Day Day Thomas steals) | Â |
| 16:27 | | Â | Day Day Thomas misses two point layup | Â |
| 16:25 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin offensive rebound | Â |
| 16:20 | | Â | Simas Lukosius misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 16:18 | | Â | Yacine Toumi defensive rebound | Â |
| 16:04 | | +2 | Yacine Toumi makes two point jump shot (Antonio Thomas assists) | 9-12 |
| 15:50 | | Â | Jamille Reynolds misses two point layup | Â |
| 15:48 | | Â | Joshua Hughes defensive rebound | Â |
| 15:32 | | Â | Day Day Thomas blocks Antonio Thomas's two point layup | Â |
| 15:31 | | Â | Purple Aces offensive rebound | Â |
| 15:31 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 15:26 | | +2 | Yacine Toumi makes two point layup (Kenny Strawbridge Jr. assists) | 11-12 |
| 15:09 | | Â | John Newman III turnover (bad pass) (Yacine Toumi steals) | Â |
| 14:49 | | Â | Antonio Thomas turnover (lost ball) | Â |
| 14:27 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin misses two point hook shot | Â |
| 14:25 | | Â | Bearcats offensive rebound | Â |
| 14:10 | | Â | Simas Lukosius turnover (lost ball) | Â |
| 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 | | Â | Joshua Hughes misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 12:53 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin misses two point layup | Â |
| 12:51 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. offensive rebound | Â |
| 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 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 12:07 | | Â | Yacine Toumi defensive rebound | Â |
| 11:46 | | Â | Yacine Toumi misses two point layup | Â |
| 11:44 | | Â | Josh Reed defensive rebound | Â |
| 11:34 | | Â | John Newman III misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 11:32 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. offensive rebound | Â |
| 11:29 | | +2 | Dan Skillings Jr. makes two point layup | 16-18 |
| 11:16 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 11:11 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 11:09 | | Â | Day Day Thomas defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:50 | | Â | Jizzle James misses two point layup | Â |
| 10:48 | | Â | Sekou Kalle defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:21 | | Â | Day Day Thomas blocks Antonio Thomas's two point jump shot | Â |
| 10:19 | | Â | Day Day Thomas defensive rebound | Â |
| 10:08 | | Â | Day Day Thomas misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 10:06 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 9:41 | | Â | Ody Oguama shooting foul (Antonio Thomas draws the foul) | Â |
| 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 | | Â | Sekou Kalle shooting foul (Dan Skillings Jr. draws the foul) | Â |
| 9:03 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â |
| 9:03 | | +1 | Dan Skillings Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-22 |
| 8:49 | | Â | Gage Bobe misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 8:47 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 8:42 | | Â | Tanner Cuff blocks Day Day Thomas's two point layup | Â |
| 8:41 | | Â | Bearcats offensive rebound | Â |
| 8:37 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin misses two point hook shot | Â |
| 8:35 | | Â | Bearcats offensive rebound | Â |
| 8:25 | | Â | Cam Haffner shooting foul (Day Day Thomas draws the foul) | Â |
| 8:25 | | Â | Day Day Thomas misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â |
| 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 | | Â | Jamille Reynolds misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 7:54 | | Â | Yacine Toumi defensive rebound | Â |
| 7:38 | | +2 | Joshua Hughes makes two point hook shot (Yacine Toumi assists) | 24-23 |
| 7:17 | | Â | Day Day Thomas misses two point layup | Â |
| 7:15 | | Â | Tanner Cuff defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:58 | | Â | Tanner Cuff misses two point layup | Â |
| 6:56 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound | Â |
| 6:46 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 6:45 | | Â | Bearcats offensive rebound | Â |
| 6:45 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 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) | 26-27 |
| 5:48 | | +2 | Joshua Hughes makes two point layup | 28-27 |
| 5:30 | | Â | Simas Lukosius turnover (bad pass) (Joshua Hughes steals) | Â |
| 5:22 | | Â | Cam Haffner misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 5:20 | | Â | Jamille Reynolds defensive rebound | Â |
| 5:13 | | +2 | Viktor Lakhin makes two point hook shot (Day Day Thomas assists) | 28-29 |
| 4:57 | | +2 | Yacine Toumi makes two point layup (Joshua Hughes assists) | 30-29 |
| 4:32 | | Â | Day Day Thomas misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 4:30 | | Â | Yacine Toumi defensive rebound | Â |
| 4:11 | | +2 | Yacine Toumi makes two point jump shot | 32-29 |
| 3:52 | | Â | John Newman III turnover (traveling) | Â |
| 3:52 | | Â | TV timeout | Â |
| 3:31 | | +2 | Tanner Cuff makes two point layup | 34-29 |
| 3:14 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. blocks Dan Skillings Jr.'s three point jump shot | Â |
| 3:12 | | Â | Tanner Cuff defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:54 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 2:52 | | Â | Ody Oguama defensive rebound | Â |
| 2:47 | | Â | Yacine Toumi blocks Jizzle James's two point layup | Â |
| 2:45 | | Â | Jizzle James offensive rebound | Â |
| 2:30 | | Â | Jizzle James offensive foul (Tanner Cuff draws the foul) | Â |
| 2:30 | | Â | Jizzle James turnover (offensive foul) | Â |
| 2:08 | | +2 | Tanner Cuff makes two point jump shot | 36-29 |
| 1:50 | | Â | Jizzle James misses three point jump shot | Â |
| 1:48 | | Â | Purple Aces defensive rebound | Â |
| 1:30 | | +2 | Tanner Cuff makes two point layup (Joshua Hughes assists) | 38-29 |
| 1:27 | | Â | Bearcats 30 second timeout | Â |
| 1:10 | | +3 | Dan Skillings Jr. makes three point jump shot (Jizzle James assists) | 38-32 |
| 0:59 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. misses two point layup | Â |
| 0:57 | | Â | Viktor Lakhin defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:51 | | Â | Ody Oguama misses two point dunk | Â |
| 0:49 | | Â | Ody Oguama offensive rebound | Â |
| 0:49 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. personal foul (Ody Oguama draws the foul) | Â |
| 0:49 | | Â | Purple Aces 30 second timeout | Â |
| 0:46 | | Â | Dan Skillings Jr. misses two point hook shot | Â |
| 0:44 | | Â | Ody Oguama offensive rebound | Â |
| 0:41 | | Â | Ody Oguama misses two point layup | Â |
| 0:39 | | Â | Yacine Toumi defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:23 | | +2 | Yacine Toumi makes two point jump shot | 40-32 |
| 0:03 | | Â | Jizzle James misses two point jump shot | Â |
| 0:01 | | Â | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. defensive rebound | Â |
| 0:00 | | Â | End of period | Â |