This win wasn’t quite as decisive for Cincinnati as the first one, but a win is a win.

Cleveland State deserves some credit. They looked like a hungry team coming off an embarrassing loss to a Division II team.

Defensively there was a lot to clean up. Cleveland State had way too many easy looks within three feet of the basket.

On offense, Cincinnati had some good stretches but only shot 39 percent from the field and 4-for-21 from three-point range.

David DeJulius is the heartbeat of this team. In an uneven game, he’s a calming presence. He hit a massive three in the second half to give Cincinnati some breathing room. An 18-point and six assist night for DDJ. He has nine assists to just one turnover through two games.

A quick start for Landers Nolley once again. He wasn’t quite as efficient, but he added 16 points and he was 6/6 at the free throw line, which is usually a bug-a-boo for Cincinnati teams.

Viktor Lakhin blew me away. The game seems to be slowing down for him. He was smooth on the offensive end with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and hit the glass hard with 12 rebounds.

It wasn’t Jeremiah Davenport’s night, especially offensively, but he had a tough assignment guarding Tristan Enaruna and he had multiple really good possessions defensively including a big block late in the second half. Playing hard isn’t an issue for Davenport, but he got beat on the defensive end far too often.

I give props to Jarrett Hensley. UC missed not having John Newman’s defensive presence and rebounding ability, but Hensley filled in nicely with seven points and four boards in 16 minutes. He plays his tail off.

It wasn’t pretty by any means, but a little adversity early in the year isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This team can learn from their mistakes and I think they’ll improve defensively. I’m curious to see how they handle an uptempo Eastern Kentucky team on Sunday.

(Featured Image: Albert Cesare/Cincinnati Enquirer)