CINCINNATI — For better or worse, everyone inside the Bearcats basketball program is well aware of the expectations of the fan base.
Sometimes, like earlier in the season when they trailed Evansville by eight or Saturday night when they we were down 12 to UCF at the half, the fans let them have it and offer a simple reminder of the expectations.
And if you’re Dan Skillings Jr., you don’t let a little booing ruin the game or your 21st birthday.
Skillings Jr. keyed an 11-0 run in the final five minutes and finished with a team-high 21 points to rally the Cincinnati Bearcats past the visiting Central Florida Knights, 68-57, in a back-and-forth Big 12 contest Saturday night.
“I appreciate y’all so much” birthday boy Dan Skillings Jr. shows his love for Bearcats fans who rallied behind team in second half pic.twitter.com/m5d4TtTj6E
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 28, 2024
After jumping out to a 15-6 lead, the Bearcats had their hats handed to them. But instead of being frustrated by the fans’ response, Skillings – like Newman said after the Evansville game on Dec. 29 – was inspired.
“I wanted to say this to man like I appreciate the fans, I appreciate y’all so much, man,” Skillings said. “Like losing the past two games, two close games, missing free throws or whatever, whatever the case may be. They still came out after two losses and it was an amazing crowd, man. It was probably one of the loudest I heard so far this year and it was just amazing. It made us all feel good and it makes us want to work even harder for y’all, not just our team and our coaches in the university but just just your fans. So thank you all for coming out and turning up for us.”
Newman added 19 for Cincinnati (14-6, 3-4), which rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit and won for just the second time in six games.
It was a game the Bearcats had to have to keep realistic NCAA tournament hopes alive.
“This was definitely a must win for us,” Newman said. “I think it just was – like for for what’s the word – like Mojo. I think it was just a must-win for our mojo yeah for our swag. But you know, we try to go out and win every game. Every game is big to get our swagger back.
“Get our confidence back as a team and we haven’t been playing like really like as hard as we can and together as much as we can and and believing in each other. So tonight, we were down 12 in the first half, and coming back and fighting and winning in double digits. After the fact that we were down by double digits is big for us. And that’s hard in this league, the Big 12. So that’s a step forward, and we just can’t get too high and can’t get too low.”
Cincinnati was dealt a big blow moments before the game when leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Viktor Lakhin was ruled out with an apparent illness.
Lakhin, averaging 12.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, took part in the pre-game shoot around and warm-ups before not coming out for introductions. Lakhin had started in all 19 previous games for UC.
Without Lakhin, Cincinnati came out on fire, making four of their first five shots from the field, including a pair of threes, to race out to a 15-6 lead.
“Needless to say, I was really pleased with how we started the game We have been really sick over the last week, players and coaches,” head coach Wes Miller said. “It has bubbled up so much over the last week we’ve barely been able to practice this week. Viktor Lakhin tried to go through practice and tried to show up to shoot around, he just couldn’t do it. I am really proud of him for just trying, that means a lot to me. We came out and I thought we played great. We subbed and I am not blaming any of the players, but then we played really poorly there on out. I was really disappointed in our transition defense and communication.”
“I was really disappointed in our defensive rebounding and quickness to the ball. On offense we were trying to take on 6-11, 7-0 footer, which were like turnovers. I’m disappointed in our first half, but I am obviously very impressed with how we came out in the second half. They were different what we prepared for as they are down two starters. I thought we found the right combinations. I thought John Newman was an absolute warrior. This will be a game in which I tell stories about John Newman years from now. I could not be more proud of Ody Oguama. All he has is come into the gym and have a great attitude and keep working. I thought his minutes and ability to match up when they went small were really important for us having success.”
Newman said the halftime message from Miller was simple: Be aggressive.
“Everything with Wes is that he wants us to be aggressive,” Newman said of Miller’s halftime message. “He gives us the confidence to go in and be aggressive and then he puts us in a position to win. That makes it easier for us and I have said this every game, but my teammates find me in great places. Simas (Lukošius) had six assists and Day Day (Thomas) had four assists, so we were sharing the ball a lot more in the second half. This was a big reason we had such a big second half.”
Marchelus Avery scored 19 and Jaylin Sellers added 17 to lead UCF (12-7, 3-4), which was outscored 41-18 in the second half and fell short in delivering coaching win No. 300 to Johnny Dawkins.
“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of what we’re capable of…” Wes Miller after UC’s 68-57 win over UCF Saturday pic.twitter.com/YQNTT108oH
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 28, 2024
With Cincinnati shooting just 2-for-13 from 3-point range, Skillings drilled a crucial triple with 2:19 left to put the Bearcats up, 57-52. Cincinnati finished the game on an 18-5 run.
After falling behind by nine, UCF went on a 28-8 tear to take a 34-23 lead. UC scored the next four points before UCF finished the half on a 5-0 spurt to take a 39-27 halftime lead.
Cincinnati came out on a 8-2 run to start the second half, highlighted by an alley oop dunk by Aziz Bandaogo, on a perfect pass from Day Day Thomas.
But the Knights immediately built the lead back to 10.
A wild sequence sparked a 9-0 Cincinnati surge that brought the crowd to its feet and rallied the Bearcats back into the game.
Day Day Thomas converted the front end of a pair of free throws but missed the second. Newman was there for the offensive rebound and easy put-back layup.
On Cincinnati’s next possession, Skillings drove to the basket but lost control on a behind-the-back move. The ball wound up in the hands of Newman, who finished the layup with a free throw to cap the nine-point run.
