Wes Miller’s team used dominant defense to take down the Bryant Bulldogs 97-71 as Viktor Lakhin and Daniel Skillings led the team with a combined 30 points on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
Jeremiah Davenport scored 10 points in the first six minutes including back to back 3-pointers to get the scoring started as Cincinnati jumped out to a lead and eventually pulled away to extend the win streak.
The Bearcats held Bryant scoreless for over three minutes and went on a 10-0 run to build a 40-24 lead at halftime. Davenport had a game-high 13 points, three rebounds and one assist at the break.
Cincinnati’s defensive effort continued in the second half en route to securing a third consecutive win by double digits and improving to 7-3 this season.
Got it done. ✅@GoBearcatsMBB scoots past Bryant 97-71 behind dueling double-doubles from Viktor Lakhin and Dan Skillings Jr.#Bearcats | @FifthThird pic.twitter.com/VN2WQmpDGZ
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) December 4, 2022
Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats beat down Bryant 97-71 to secure third straight win
Lakhin racked up a second straight double-double with a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Skillings scored a career-high 14 points to go with 13 rebounds in the blowout win over the Bulldogs.
Miller’s inaugural recruiting class had a significant impact on Sunday afternoon as Skillings recorded his first career double-double, while Josh Reed added 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Freshman center Sage Tolentino also made his debut in the win.
Cincinnati will return to action against rival Xavier on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena with a chance to stay undefeated at home. During the postgame press conference, Skillings discussed the win streak and reacted to his performance per Cincinnati Athletics.
"“We learned from the losses and have been grinding in practice as a team. Just trusting each other and working together. Every day and every practice, we’re just getting better and better. These wins are big for us and it’s another step forward. There’s a lot of veterans and experience on this team so we learn from them. Defense wins games so our mindset is to just come in, play defense and rebound for our team. Then let the offense come to us.”"