Double-Doubles From Miller, Thiam Raise Cincinnati Previous Mount St. Mary’s, 72–55 – College of Cincinnati Athletics

CINCINNATI – Senior ahead Baba Miller and sophomore middle Moustapha Thiam each claimed double-doubles to guide the Cincinnati males’s basketball workforce to a 72-55 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Sunday evening at Fifth Third Arena. The win propelled the Bearcats to 4-0, whereas the Mountaineers fell to 1-3.

“During the last 12 minutes of the second half, we started playing Cincinnati basketball,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller stated. “Day Day [Thomas] diving on the floor for a loose ball that didn’t even look like it was in his area. I thought that was the defining moment during that stretch. Our length at the rim finally became a factor in the game in the second half. I thought we guarded the 3-point line better. Some of it was communication errors in transition, or communication errors on broken plays, which we practice all the time. I give them credit, like when we made a mistake in the first half, they made the shot. I thought our defense led to offense in the second half, and it was a much better second half than it was the first half for us.” 

Miller scored 13 factors and grabbed 11 rebounds because the Mallorca, Spain, native recorded his third double-double of the season. Thiam added 13 factors and 10 boards for his first double-double of the 12 months. It marked the primary time two Bearcats posted double-doubles in the identical sport since Jizzle James and Dan Skillings did so on Nov. 4, 2024, towards Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Both additionally added 4 blocks.

After a back-and-forth battle, Cincinnati pulled away within the second half with a 19-3 run over an 8:32 stretch to take an 11-point lead at 61-50 with 6:22 remaining.

Graduate scholar Day Day Thomas poured in a game-high 16 factors and went an ideal 3-for-3 from past the arc. He additionally added season highs of 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Freshman guard Keyshuan Tillery chipped in a career-best 9 factors in 14 minutes.

Cincinnati compelled Mount St. Mary’s into 19 turnovers and transformed them into 21 factors. The Mountaineers compelled 10 turnovers however failed to show any into factors. The Bearcats attacked bodily, reaching the free-throw line 30 instances and making 18 makes an attempt. UC additionally managed the inside, with Thiam and Miller every blocking 4 pictures as Cincinnati outscored the Mountaineers 34-18 within the paint and held a 46-36 benefit on the glass.

A sluggish begin for the Bearcats led to a 26-21 Mount St. Mary’s benefit with eight minutes left within the opening half because the Mountaineers had been connecting on half of their pictures from the sector (10-for-20) and 5-of-9 3-point makes an attempt. The Mount St. Mary’s lead swelled to 9 at 36-27 on a Luke McEldon hook shot with 1:21 remaining however Miller’s third rejection of the half led to a runout that resulted in a Tillery three from the highest of the important thing to trim the deficit to 36-30 heading into the half.

In the opening 20 minutes, Tillery paced the Bearcats with eight factors whereas Miller added seven factors, 5 boards and three blocks. Xavier Lipscomb poured in 13 and pulled down six boards for the Mountaineers.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Thiam swatted a Justin Amadi layup try and sprinted down the ground to complete a floater, slicing UC’s deficit to 38-36. His effort sparked a 6-0 run that pushed the Bearcats again in entrance, 42-41, with 16:01 left.

Mount St. Mary’s answered with a 7-0 burst on the 14:16 mark to retake management, 48-42 however Cincinnati responded once more, stringing collectively a 10-0 run highlighted by a Shon Abaev high-flying slam and capped by a Miller dunk to go forward 52-48 with 9:54 remaining. A McEldon layup briefly halted the surge, however UC saved rolling with a 9-0 run to stretch its result in 11.

The Bearcats closed out the sport on an 11-3 spurt, capped by a one-handed alley-oop tomahawk dunk from Thomas off a Kerr Kriisa help to seal the 17-point win in fashion.

Cincinnati takes on No. 12 Louisville at 6:30 p.m. Friday within the Hoops Classic at Heritage Bank Center.