On Thursday night against one of the best teams in the AAC, sophomore guards Zach Harvey, Jeremiah Davenport and Mika Adams-Woods carried the Bearcats near the finish line, and senior forward Keith Williams took UC the rest of the way.
On a night where UC’s seniors struggled scoring most of the way and its defense couldn’t protect the rim, that sophomore trio kept the Bearcats in the game, and Williams closed it. Following a dominant final two minutes, UC beat SMU on the road, 76-69.
Before Thursday, the Bearcats were on the verge of setting unchartered territory. UC hadn’t lost to the Mustangs since 2017, and the Bearcats could have lost their sixth straight game for the first time since 2008.
Even though UC struggled defensively and kept handing the Mustangs the ball, the Bearcats won their first close game of the season.
For most of the game, the end result didn’t look likely.
The UC program has gained a reputation for its defense near the basket but allowed 42 points in the paint on Thursday. And for a team that has often been carried by its seniors, Williams went 5-for-14 for 12 points, and Vogt went scoreless in eight minutes.
The Bearcats trailed until the last two minutes of the game, and they did just enough down the stretch.
UC shot well behind the three-point line for the first time in conference play, and Harvey hunted open shots, finishing with 13 points in 18 minutes. Making the first start of his career, Davenport scored UC’s first basket of the game and finished with a team-high 18 points
After Davenport scored seven points in the middle of the second half, UC trailed 63-61 with 5:00 remaining. The Bearcats defended well down the stretch, and Adams-Woods made a three-point shot that gave the Bearcats a 65-64 lead with 2:41 left. Adams-Woods had 14 points, and his four made three point shots bailed out an offense that stagnated in the second half.
UC forced turnovers down the stretch, and Williams converted a layup in transition that gave UC a 68-67 lead with 1:49 left.
Williams made four baskets in the second half and assisted freshman forward Tari Eason’s dunk in the final minute. Eason closed the game with two consecutive dunks that sealed the win and the end of UC’s downward spiral.
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