It was 52 days in the making. And, it took an extra period to settle.
The University of Cincinnati Bearcats started 2023 with a disappointing 70-61 loss at Temple's Liacouras Center. Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena, UC clawed out a tough one against the Owls in overtime 88-83 in front of 10,059 fans.
Landers Nolley II had nine of his 20 points in the overtime to help nail down UC's 19th win. After missing a would-be game-winning 3-pointer to end regulation, he was determined to make up for it.
UC never had a double-digit lead in the game, but again had to scrap late. They went with Nolley this time as Temple had David DeJulius, who hit Sunday's game-winner vs. UCF, effectively covered.
Nolley's overtime run was spurred on by an altercation with Damien Dunn who led all scorers with 34 points.
"That kind of sparked my fire," Nolley said. "From there, the rest was history. That's why I was so mad I missed that last shot in regulation."
With 2:16 remaining in the overtime, Nolley's stepback jumper gave UC the lead for good at 81-79. Jeremiah Davenport's free throws at the end iced it and the game ended with Nolley pulling down the final rebound.
"I loved how our guys responded in overtime," UC coach Wes Miller said. "We had the mentality tonight just to find any way we could to win the game. Was it pretty down the stretch? No. Did we execute offensively the way I want? No. Did we get every stop we needed to get? No. But, the will and mentality to win, that's what you're pleased with as a coach."
Outrebounded by 18 in Philly by the Owls, UC won Wednesday's battle underneath, 35-29. The victory broke a three-game skid against Temple.
Grad student David DeJulius had 20 on a night where they excelled at the free throw line. Along with his patented hang-in-the-air jumpers, fall-aways and free throws, he had 7 assists. DeJulius was 9-for-9 from the line and the Bearcats were 28-for-30 overall.
At one point UC had made 19 consecutive free throws until Viktor Lakhin missed one late in the second half. It was their best effort at the charity stripe since going 18-for-18 against Louisville in 2005.
"The strength of this team is shooting the ball," Miller said. "It is good to see we got to the foul line more tonight. That's really important to be successful down the stretch."
Dan Skillings Jr. shines for Cincinnati vs. Temple
Growing up 19 minutes from Temple's home of Philadelphia in Blackwood, New Jersey, UC freshman Dan Skillings Jr. had a career night. After a spectacular 10-point first half, he finished with 15 his best as a Bearcat, making 6-of-8 shots.
"That's just so good to see because we need to use him more and we need more depth on the perimeter," Miller said. "He's definitely the guy that needs to do it."
Skillings had over 100 people watching in Philly, but Wednesday night his friends and family had to settle for ESPN2. He knew some of Temple's players and let them know he was there a few times.
"It was good to get them back," Skillings said. "It was a good team win for us. There was no one (family) here today but I focus better when I don't have a lot of family and people at the game. I was able to lock in and we got the job done."
Lakhin back in the lineup
After a slow first half. 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore Lakhin was effective despite foul trouble in the second half. He finished with 10 points and appeared more comfortable during the second stanza adding two blocks. It was his first game since Feb. 7 at Tulane when he rolled his ankle.
"The impact he has on the game is significant," Miller said. "It's great to have him back. Hopefully, the ankle feels pretty good. I thought from a movement standpoint and a physical standpoint he looked OK. That's the most important (thing) down the stretch."
Lakhin started for the first time in three games but was sluggish early and sat most of the first half after getting two quick fouls. Temple led most of the early portion of the game, but UC went up 26-24 with 7:26 left on a DeJulius drive and kept the advantage the rest of the half.
Cincinnati took lead into halftime against Temple
In the final minutes before the break freshman Skillings Jr. buried a 3-pointer and had an acrobatic lay-up to five UC five straight points and a 37-31 lead. Zach Hicks hit a trey for Temple before halftime to cut UC's lead to 37-34.
Skillings Jr., who played high school ball in Philadelphia Roman Catholic, led all scorers at intermission with 10 making four of his five shots.
Lakhin would get a dunk and a block early in the second half, but a third foul sent him back to the bench. After tying the game in the first minute UC would eventually go on to lead by nine points with Skillings popping another triple in the cylinder. Just before the 11:00 minute mark, Skillings would thrill the crowd with a runaway dunk.
But, as has been the case in many UC games, the opponent wouldn't go away. Dunn's 3-ball tied the game at 65, then DeJulius answered from the top of the key sending the Bearcats to a timeout with 7:37 to go up 68-65. Minutes later he hung in the air to deposit the ball for a 6-point lead.
With 19 seconds remaining, Temple tied the game at 75, putting UC in a final shot position again. Nolley's 3-pointer was off mark and UC was in overtime for the second time of the season.
UC would outscore Temple 13-8 to prevail for the first time all season in overtime. They are now 19-10 (10-6 AAC). Temple drops to 15-14 (9-7 AAC).
"From here on out, every game is crucial for us," Nolley said. "We can't have slip-ups."
UC heads off for a rematch with Memphis next as they have a Sunday 2 p.m. (EST) tip-off at the FedEx Forum with the Tigers. Memphis won at Fifth Third Arena 75-68. The Tigers are at Wichita State Thursday night.
Temple was without Khalif Battle vs. Cincinnati
Temple played for a second straight game without top scorer, redshirt sophomore Khalif Battle. Averaging 17.9 points per game, Battle was held scoreless when Temple recently lost their fourth straight game to Wichita State. He was held out in their Sunday win over Tulsa for personal reasons and did not make the trip to Cincinnati.
Books, boards, basketball
Forward Ody Oguama has had a pretty good month on the court and in class. Tuesday, the 6-foot-9-inch senior earned College Sports Communications Academic All-District honors. The native of Raleigh, North Carolina has earned a 3.633 GPA in interdisciplinary studies in addition to upping his game while teammate Viktor Lakhin has been out injured. Oguama was UC's Legion of Excellence honoree last season for having the highest GPA on the team. He's been active with the Queen City Book Club reading books to students in grades one through four. Academic All-American voting continues through Feb. 28.
Former Walnut Hills forward Tyler McKinley on hand for UC vs. Temple
Now at Link Academy, former Walnut Hills big man Tyler McKinley, a Bearcat target, was on had for the game. The 6-foot-9-inch forward averaged 17.2 points per game and 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore last season for the Eagles when they won the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Current Bearcat Jarrett Hensley was also a Link Academy (Branson, Missouri) product. McKinley also visited Xavier's game with Villanova Tuesday night.
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