Cincinnati runs away from Florida Gulf Coast to stay unbeaten

Field Level Media|published: Sun 3rd December, 15:16 2023

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller instructs the team in the second half during an NCAA college basketball game between Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Cincinnati Bearcats, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. credits: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Viktor Lakhin and CJ Fredrick scored 19 points apiece, and host Cincinnati remained unbeaten by hammering Florida Gulf Coast 99-62 Sunday afternoon.

One of 15 undefeated teams remaining, the Bearcats (7-0) trailed just once in the game, led by 23 at halftime and nearly reached the century mark for the first time.

Lakhin missed just two of his 10 shots and added nine rebounds and six assists.

In scoring a career high in points for the Bearcats, Fredrick made 6 of 7 shots from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

Ody Oguama netted 13 points and Aziz Bandaogo had 10. Dan Skillings Jr. had a game-high 12 rebounds.

The 37-point margin of victory increased Cincinnati's average to 22.3 points — all but one by double digits.

The Bearcats shot 56.5 percent and made 11 of 19 shots from distance (57.9 percent). They held a 46-23 rebound margin.

Keeshawn Kellman led the Eagles (2-7) with 23 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Florida Gulf Coast played without injured guard Isaiah Thompson, who tops the Atlantic Sun Conference program with 14 points per game.

After dropping five of their past six contests, the visiting Eagles took a 6-4 lead on a layup by Kellman at 17:17, but it was all Bearcats after that.

Cincinnati went out on a balanced 19-2 run with Fredrick pacing the action with five points. Along the way, Cincinnati canned seven straight shots as its shooting hovered around 70 percent.

Following the run, Cincinnati closed out the half with ease and led FGCU 49-26 at the halftime break.

The most impressive area for Cincinnati in the first 20 minutes was its defensive effort. It forced five turnovers and led to an 8-2 fastbreak advantage.

Under pressure from the Bearcats, the Eagles hit just 12 of 32 attempts (37.5 percent) from the field and 2 of 6 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and the home side used that defensive effort to its advantage with the basketball, too.

Cincinnati was 20-of-33 shooting (60.6 percent) and sizzled by draining 6 of 9 (66.7 percent) from long range in the first half.

—Field Level Media