Eight days ago, Bryant walked into the JMA Dome in Syracuse and upset the Orange 73-72. Today, they had no such luck at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats jumped out to a 36-13 and never looked back, cruising to a 97-71 win.

Bryant was down two key players (Kvonn Cramer and Earl Timberlake), but I don’t think it would have mattered much.

The Bearcats posted one of their more impressive defensive showings of the Wes Miller era against a formidable offensive team. Sherif Gross-Bullock and Doug Edert (Yes, that Doug Edert) were shooting over 40 percent from three coming in. They combined to shoot 2-13 from beyond the arc in this game.

Cincinnati’s offense sliced and diced an often wide-open middle of the floor, scoring 46 points in the paint.

I was nervous coming in because of Bryant’s up-tempo offense and ability to shoot, but this was just a flat-out laugher.

The diaper dandies put on a show. Dan Skillings scored 14 points with 13 rebounds. Josh Reed added ten points and nine boards. Both of these guys play hard and seem to respond well to Wes Miller’s tough love. It was nice to see Skillings drain a few threes after he was just 1-14 from three on the season. Reed also impressed on the defensive end. 

Viktor Lakhin stole my heart, and he should be stealing yours too. It’s easier to get rebounds when Bryant goes 23/77 from the field, but it’s hard not to get excited about this guy. Wes mentioned it, and I believe he’s just scratching the surface. If he had a little more touch on those shots around the rim, then his potential is scary.

David DeJulius started slow, but he closed strong. The more significant development is that he will be playing more point guard due to an injury to Rob Phinisee. Dave at the point might provide the most upside for this team offensively.

Jeremiah Davenport was brilliant, especially in the early going. He scored 10 of UC’s first 14 points. Unfortunately, he exited the game with a nose injury early in the second half. I’m not sure how severe JD’s injury is, but it’s a blow to an already banged-up team.

Jarrett Hensley had a solid bounce-back game after not scoring in the previous four games. He showed off some bounce with a few transition dunks. He is probably in line for more minutes with Davenport’s status up in the air.

I’d be remiss without mentioning Sage Tolentino. I was happy to see him get in and score a few buckets. He’s not going to be a savior, but it’s a big lift if he can spell Vik with 5-10 quality minutes.

Up next is the Crosstown Shootout against a good Xavier team. It’s going to be a challenge, but Fifth Third will be rocking, and stranger things have happened in the Shootout…

Game Ball:

Dan Skillings (1)

Best Post-Game Quote:

“I’ll never forget Chad Dollar comes in smiling, ‘Vik, he’s good’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I see it too.’” – Wes Miller