Florida Gulf Coast up next as Cincinnati goes for 7 straight

Field Level Media|published: Sat 2nd December, 16:34 2023

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Viktor Lakhin (30) encourages the crowd after a made 3-point basket 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

The Cincinnati Bearcats look to match their longest unbeaten start in six years when they host the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Sunday.

The Bearcats (6-0) are coming off a dramatic 86-81 overtime win at Howard on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., and then an on-campus accident two days later, when one of their players was struck by a vehicle.

Viktor Lakhin scored a team-high 19 points while Dan Skillings Jr. added 16 and a key blocked shot late in overtime, to give Cincinnati a win in their first road game of the season. The Bearcats are looking for their first 7-0 start since the 2017-18 team won its first seven games.

"I do think this will be good for us. I'm proud of our guys finding a way to win despite not playing well," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "We have a lot to learn from in getting back to the drawing board and the basics. We played some real good basketball last week and may have gotten complacent."

On Thursday, Simas Lukosius was struck by a moving vehicle on campus and sustained only minor injuries after scoring 11 points in the victory.

"We are relieved to report that Simas has no major injury from Thursday night, and his participation status is day-to-day," Miller added. "He is feeling better from the initial shock of the incident, and we are grateful for everyone's support."

The Eagles (2-6) snapped a five-game losing streak by coming back from a 15-point deficit to post a 68-65 win over Florida International on Wednesday in Miami.

Trailing 53-40, FGCU went on a 23-3 run in a nine-minute span of the second half to take a 63-56 lead and hold on for just the Eagles' second win. Dallion Johnson scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to help spark the rally as the Eagles played without two of their key contributors.

"Really gutsy effort by this group," FGCU head coach Pat Chambers said. "No Chase Johnston, no Andre Weir, and FIU was relentless on the defensive end. To come out and compete in the second half the way we did, I'm really proud of our resilience and grit. We had great contributions from all eight players that stepped on the floor."

—Field Level Media