(Featured Image credit: Justin Rex/AP Photo)

It looked hairy with around five minutes to go as Cincinnati led by just six. The Bearcats closed the game on a 14-2 run to win 87-69.

It was a fast start for Cincinnati, building a 23-point lead in the first half. But Eastern Kentucky whittled the lead down to 15 at halftime.

In the second half, the Colonels started hitting from 3-point range, draining six of their 12 attempts to make things interesting.

It was nice to see UC respond to a bit of adversity, and I was impressed with the defense down the stretch to quell EKU’s run.

David DeJulius is the type of lead guard you want on your team, especially late in games. He just doesn’t seem to make many mistakes. He had everything working. Just another 22-point performance for Dave, and it feels like he doesn’t have to carry the entire team on his shoulders.

It wasn’t the best game for Landers Nolley, but he still added 14 points and he seems to play within himself. When he sees a mismatch, he’ll take advantage of it and at least get to the foul line, where he went seven-for-eight.

I know Jeremiah Davenport can drive some fans crazy, but when he’s knocking down threes, UC is a different team. He was 3-8 from deep and still takes a few questionable shots, but it was a much better performance than Thursday.

Viktor Lakhin can’t stop making behind-the-back passes and I love him for it. Vik had some foul trouble in this one, but he had a huge chase-down block in the second half that kept it a six-point game. He also added seven rebounds.

Mika Adams-Woods played a solid floor game and to be honest he’s looked like the better point guard than Rob Phinisee. A nice 11-point and four-assist output for Shoey.

Jarrett Hensley was brilliant. He looks like a different player. He’s playing with confidence, and his shot doesn’t look nearly as ugly as last year. With John Newman out for a while, Hensley’s development will be huge for this group.

We finally saw the Ody Oguama that we saw at times last season. He’s not going to get confused with Shaq as an offensive presence, but his job is to rebound and give this team some energy. He did exactly that with 12 rebounds, and it was critical because of Vik’s foul trouble.

The offense hasn’t been there for Rob Phinisee, but I’ll give him credit for the seven rebounds and for being a solid defender on the perimeter.

I’m going to start awarding a Game Ball after each of these.

Game Ball: Jarrett Hensley

UC will have a road test at NKU on Wednesday before heading to Maui. NKU won’t be a pushover, and I’m expecting a packed house across the river.