Skillings and Defense Propel No. 19 Bearcats to Victory Over No. 22 Dayton

CINCINNATI – Junior forward Daniel Skillings Jr. put up a game-leading 17 points, guiding the No. 19-ranked Cincinnati men’s basketball squad to a 66-59 triumph over the No. 22-ranked Dayton on Friday evening in the Simple Truth Hoops Classic presented by CareSource at Heritage Bank Center.

 

Skillings contributed six rebounds and four steals, spearheading three Bearcats with double-digit scores. Sophomore point guard Jizzle James amassed 14 points, sinking 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, and achieved a personal-best three blocks. Senior wing Simas Lukosius added 13 points, nailing three triples.

 

The Bearcats improved to 9-1 this season, while the Flyers fell to 10-3. Dayton, which has beaten two top-six teams this year, entered the evening ranked 10th nationally in KenPom for offense. They were restricted to season-lows in points, field goal percentage (39.2), while committing a season-high in turnovers (17).

 

Cincinnati, which converted 11-of-12 from the foul line in the last 5:59 of the game, led by as much as 18 in the second half after James nailed a pair of three-pointers with under 11 minutes left, but Dayton mounted a comeback.

 

Dayton guards Malachi Smith and Posh Alexander heated up, and their shooting chipped away at the Bearcats’ lead as the game progressed.

 

Smith’s three-pointer trimmed UC’s lead to 61-57 with two minutes on the clock, prompting the Bearcats to call for a timeout.

 

Senior center Aziz Bandaogo calmly responded by sinking two free throws, restoring Cincinnati’s six-point lead with 56 seconds to go.

 

After Dayton forward Nick Santos missed a three-pointer, the Flyers fouled Cincinnati guard Day Day Thomas, who made two free throws, extending the Bearcats’ lead to eight with only 30 seconds left.

 

Skillings Jr. dove for his fourth steal just seven seconds later, effectively quashing the Dayton threat.

 

Cincinnati enjoyed a 38-32 advantage on the boards and forced 17 turnovers. Dayton never held a lead during the game.

 

Both teams faced difficulties shooting in the first half.

 

The Bearcats missed their first six attempts but surged ahead by dominating the rebounds and shutting down the Flyers’ offense. Dayton failed to make a field goal until the 8:45 mark in the opening half, missing their initial 11 attempts while Cincinnati established a double-digit lead.

 

Junior forward Dillon Mitchell’s block resulted in a corner three-pointer from freshman wing Tyler Betsey, moving the score to 16-4 and forcing Dayton to call a timeout at 10:55.

 

Once Dayton finally sank a field goal, they capitalized with jumpers from Smith and Alexander to narrow the gap to 6, 23-17, at the 1:20 mark in the first half.

 

Cincinnati led 25-17 at halftime following a putback by Mitchell.

FROM WES MILLER

“I want to begin by stating two key points from tonight. Firstly, I was thrilled with the presence of Cincinnati fans this evening. That was fantastic…The difference was all the supporters that showed up tonight. I want to express my gratitude to all the Bearcats fans, and I recognize they prefer to see us at Fifth Third, but they made the effort to support the basketball team tonight, especially with Dayton traveling so close. I was genuinely impressed by our fan base. You could really feel the energy from that side of the court by our bench. Secondly, I must remark that was an exceptional basketball team we faced tonight. Anthony Grant, during the two-year scouting period of those players, it was the toughest preparation I’ve encountered in quite some time. They are resilient, defensively skilled, and possess an excellent offense that can shoot with precision. If they maintain their health, they could be a formidable team capable of reaching the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight. They’re just that competent.

“I’m proud of our victory and the efforts of our players. We defended fiercely tonight, especially in the first half. We established a strong defensive tone, and our players were fully engaged and focused on the game plan, creating deflections and turnovers. We controlled the boards as well. We had some solid offensive moments early in the game, with good shot selections and securing rebounds. There was a period in the first half where their pressure seemingly impacted our ability to get good shots. I believe we weathered that storm, which eventually allowed us to regain our rhythm. Offensively, we are progressing. We are beginning to have stretches where the offense is improving significantly tonight.”

NOTABLE

-This marked the sixth ranked victory for Wes Miller at Cincinnati, three of which have been achieved on neutral sites (Illinois in Kansas City in 2021-22 and Kansas in KC for the Big 12 Tourney in 2023-24).

-Dan Skillings’ 17 points equaled his season-best from his double-double in the opening game. He has since played 14, 26, and now 27 minutes in his first three games after returning from his knee injury.

–Jizzle James’ four three-pointers equaled a career-high set last year as a freshman against Iowa State.

-The Bearcats held Dayton to 39.2 percent shooting, following a strong defensive display against Xavier limiting them to 37.9.

–Aziz Bandaogo has reached a career-high 70.4 percent from the foul line after shooting 54.5 percent in the previous year.

-This was the fifth encounter out of 93 total with Dayton where both teams were ranked (the previous in 2003). UC leads the all-time series 61-32, avenging an 82-68 defeat at Heritage Bank Center last year.

 

UP NEXT

Cincinnati will host Grambling State at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena (ESPN+) before taking an eight-day break. UC is set to commence Big 12 play at Kansas State on Monday, December 30 at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.