Simas Lukosius stays sharp for No. 18 Cincinnati in holding off Northern Kentucky

Field Level Media|published: Tue 19th November, 21:32 2024

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Simas Lukosius (41) reacts after scoring a three-point basket Tuesday, March 26, 2024, during the quarterfinals of the NIT at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute. The Indiana State Sycamores defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 85-81.

Simas Lukosius continued his torrid 3-point shooting and No. 18 Cincinnati held off several rallies from host Northern Kentucky to post a 76-60 win Tuesday night in Highland Heights, Ky.

The winless Norse (0-4) had hopes of repeating the shocking 64-51 win over Cincinnati in 2022, when the Bearcats were held to just 11 points in the second half on NKU's home court.

Cincinnati never trailed in Tuesday's game and has started 4-0 for a second straight year under coach Wes Miller.

Lukosius scored all of his points from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 18 points for Cincinnati, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Lukosius scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half on perfect 5-for-5 shooting from long range.

The Cincinnati guard is now 16-for-23 from long distance in four games. Texas transfer Dillon Mitchell scored 12 points, Jizzle James added 11 and Bradley transfer Connor Hickman had 10 points for Cincinnati, which was playing its first road game of the season.

Sam Vinson had 16 points and four rebounds to lead NKU (0-4), which has lost its first four games for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Trey Robinson chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

While NKU made several runs late in the first half and early in the second half, Cincinnati built its biggest lead of the night, 63-47, thanks to a 9-0 run that broke the game open with seven minutes remaining.

Cincinnati took a 32-28 halftime lead on the strength of nine points, three assists and three steals from point guard James.

--Field Level Media