ORLANDO, Florida — When in doubt, give the ball to a veteran.
That's what University of Cincinnati coach Wes Miller did when the Bearcats had 11 ticks on the clock and needed a bucket. Grad student David DeJulius got the inbound pass, drove the lane, floated the ball and it whooshed through the net.
As coach Wes Miller sighed, UC had a key 73-71 Quadrant 1 win over Central Florida's Knights.
"I was super proud of David," Miller said. "He deserved that one to go in, the way he's worked at it and how invested he is."
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David DeJulius comes through vs. UCF after not converting against Tulane
Miller said DeJulius took it hard when he was unable to convert at Tulane in a similar situation less than two weeks ago. In the timeout huddle, DeJulius wanted the ball, got the ball and was rewarded for his hard work and dedication.
"I work on that," DeJulius said. "I've got to give thanks to Coach Wes for trusting me and my teammates in that position. It's amazing! I've got the best teammates in the world. It's the most close-knit team I've ever been on. They were telling me before we started. Coach drew up a play for me and they believe in me. They said, 'We're going to go down fighting with you!'"
It's their first Quadrant 1 win of the season since the Knights came in with a ranking of No. 55 in the NCAA NET which determines postseason possibilities. A win on the road against a team ranked in the No. 1-75 range is considered Quadrant 1. UC's previous win over UCF was a Quadrant 2 since the Bearcats were at home. The Bearcats now equal last year's win mark at 18-10 and are 9-6 in the AAC. UCF goes to 15-11 (6-8 AAC).
Needing a bounce-back game in the American Athletic Conference Sunday, the Bearcats were playing in front of a Sunday matinee crowd hungry for a win. The Bearcats held the lead most of the second half, something they had struggled to do in recent road games. But, with 11 seconds to go, the Knights could have flipped the script.
Instead, DeJulius drained the runner much to the dismay of most of the 5,213 on hand at Addition Arena. UC improves to 17-4 when they have a halftime lead, 18-2 when leading under five minutes and 15-1 when they outrebound an opponent. The Bearcats won the glass war 31-24.
"It's been a tough couple weeks," Miller said. "We've blown a couple leads here in the last five or six minutes of games. I thought our group was real resilient in those moments. I thought we made some real game-winning plays."
In addition to DeJulius, who finished with 16 points and eight assists, Landers Nolley II added 18 points.
Cincinnati gets production from Ody Oguama and Kalu Ezikpe in the post
In the post, Ody Oguama and Kalu Ezikpe were productive enough to record double-figure scoring efforts. Oguama had 15 points and was 7-of-7 from the field. Ezikpe contributed 12 points, while Mika Adams-Woods added 10. All five Bearcat starters finished in double figures. It was the first time five players had been in double figures since their Dec. 29 win at home vs. Tulane.
"I think it's Kalu's best game as a Bearcat," Miller said of the fifth-year player who has started the last three games. "He just keeps getting better. His role keeps increasing. He's played the heaviest minutes of his life. He guarded multiple positions. He guarded a guy that will be drafted in the first round (Taylor Hendricks) and also guarded their center tonight."
Said Oguama, "My teammates did a great job of finding me. Especially Dave (DeJulius). Dave's a killer on that ball screen, a killer in general. He found me open on a lot of those plays and he was able to ice the game himself."
The duo had to deal with 7-foot fifth-year player Michael Durr, who didn't play at Fifth Third Arena the last time the two teams met. The former teammate of Rob Phinisee at Indiana led UCF with 15 points while UC held freshman sensation Hendricks to 12.
Cincinnati had lead vs. UCF at halftime, was able to hold on for win
The Bearcats held a halftime lead on the road for the fourth consecutive game. Adams-Woods hit a 3-pointer with 5:50 left in the half to put UC up 25-24. UCF would tie it once from there but the Bearcats got late baskets from Oguama, Nolley and DeJulius to pull ahead.
The Bearcats wouldn't score for the final 2:03, but still outshot UCF 56% to 37.5% in the first half. A last-second tip-in from Lahat Thioune of UCF was waved off after the buzzer so the Bearcats ran to the locker room up 33-30. Their defense caused UCF to miss nine of their last 11 shots.
Viktor Lakhin did not start for the third consecutive game but was taped and ready to play. Though he seemed unimpeded in warmups, the Bearcats again started Ezikpe. Without Lakhin, the Bearcats still held the first-half rebounding edge 16-13. Costly were seven turnovers to just two for the Knights.
The Bearcats raced out to an eight-point advantage early in the second half on a basket by Ezikpe. Then, the Knights quickly cut it to 43-41. UC then went on a 12-4 run with the help of a flagrant and technical foul on Darius Johnson. Ezikpe and DeJulius made the ensuing free throws to up the lead to 53-45.
UCF would rally again, as one would expect at home. With under five minutes remaining UC's lead was just 63-61 after back-to-back-to back baskets by redshirt senior Ithiel Horton of UCF.
UCF would reduce the UC lead to three with under a minute left. The Bearcats struggled with turnovers most of the game to allow the Knights extra chances. A 15th turnover gave the Knights the ball down 71-69 with 37 seconds left. C.J. Kelly converted on a lay-up and it was 71-71.
'That's one of the best feelings as a coach': Wes Miller on DeJulius' game-winner
That set up the DeJulius floater that sent his teammates storming the court. It was a win that could factor in seeding for the upcoming AAC tournament in Fort Worth.
"That's one of the best feelings as a coach to see that joy within your team, within those young people," Miller said of the brief "'Catpile".
UCF was coming off of a tough loss at Memphis where it forced 24 turnovers but fell by one 64-63. They forced 15 turnovers in this one but this time fell by two.
It was UC's first win in Addition Arena in three years. They hadn't won in Orlando since Jan. 11, 2020, when a second-half comeback led them to a 68-54 victory over the Knights. Current senior Mika Adams-Woods also started in that game. Oddly, UC made just four 3-pointers Sunday, their fewest in a win since the Nov. 10 game vs. Cleveland State.
Up next for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball
The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for their second match of the season with the Temple Owls. Temple dealt UC its first loss of 2023 on New Year's Day 70-61 in Philadelphia. The Owls had lost four straight before beating Tulas 76-53 Sunday.
Again, they will hope to have 6-foot-11-inch Lakhin back, his pregame and halftime warmups are the first action he's seen since the injury. He tried to talk head basketball Athletic Trainer Bob Mangine and Miller into letting him play, but was held out and fortunately not needed.
"It's kind of refreshing to know that we were able to get a big win like that against a great team with a big player like Vik coming back," DeJulius said.
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