Cincinnati eyes revenge in clash vs. Northern Kentucky

Field Level Media|published: Sat 18th November, 14:54 2023

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller shouts to his defense in the second half of the NCAA men s basketball exhibition game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Detroit Mercy Titans at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. The Bearcats won 93-61. credits: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cincinnati will look for a bit of payback and a continuation of its perfect start to the season when it hosts regional rival Northern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

Last season, the Bearcats were stunned by the Horizon League school across the Ohio River in Highland Heights, Ky.

Cincinnati held a 40-36 halftime lead before being outscored 28-11 in the second half in a 64-51 setback. The win for the Norse is their lone one in nine all-time meetings.

The Bearcats (3-0) have had a full week to savor an 85-73 win over Eastern Washington last Sunday. The clash against Northern Kentucky marks Cincinnati's fourth straight home game to open the season.

Last Sunday's win was highlighted by Viktor Lakhin's 26 points, the most by a Cincinnati player this season. Day Day Thomas added 11, making him the lone Bearcats player with three straight double-digit scoring games to open the season.

"Viktor had a really good preseason and a really good offseason," Bearcats head coach Wes Miller said. "He's really improved, and I've got to see that most days in practice. I'm glad everybody else that was watching got to see that. I was pleased with the performance."

On Tuesday, Sam Vinson and Marques Warrick led the way with 21 points apiece as the Norse (1-2) recorded their first win in three tries with an 85-68 decision over Depauw. Vinson drained a career-high five 3-pointers to go with three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

"We came into this game with our with our whole focus being that we wanted to play faster in transition and have an opportunity to get to get out and really run it," Norse coach Darrin Horn said. "We feel like that's how we're going to be our best as a team moving forward, and so I thought our guys did a really good job of that."

Cade Meyer had a big game in the paint, with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.

"I thought defensively, we've still got a lot of work to do," Horn added. "We're not as aggressive as we want to be for us to be our best and that will come. We've got to keep working on it."

—Field Level Media