Bearcats' Upset Bid Falls Short, Instant Reaction to 73-72 Loss to UCF Knights

The Bearcats are 8-8 on the season following Sunday's loss.

Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam (52) dunks in the first half of the NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the NJIT Highlanders at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Wes Miller has made it clear: It's the Bearcats vs the world. They continue to fight, despite losing their third-straight game on Sunday night. Cincinnati fell to UCF 73-72 in Orlando after Jalen Celestine’s potential game-winning 3-point attempt went in-and-out as time expired. Themus Fulks made the game-winning jump shot with 13 seconds remaining. 

The Bearcats built an early 12-5 lead and were tied with the 25th-ranked Knights with less than 8-minutes left in the game, but UCF pulled away in the end to secure their 13th victory of the season. 

Meanwhile, the Bearcats fall to 8-8 on the year. They’ve lost three-straight games and six of their last eight contests. Cincinnati is 0-6 in games decided by nine points or less. 

Struggles From Beyond The Arc

The Bearcats only made 3-of-19 (15.8%) 3-point attempts, which is a big reason why they struggled to pull off the upset. 

Leading Scorers

Moustapha Thiam led the way for the Bearcats, finishing with a season-high 24 points and five rebounds. He made 10-of-15 shots. His previous season-high was 18 points. 

Jizzle James wasn’t far behind, finishing with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. Baba Miller had 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.  

Turnovers

The Bearcats forced 14 turnovers, which kept them in the game, despite their struggles from beyond-the-arc. Cincinnati only had seven turnovers. That was a major bright spot for Miller's team and a big reason why the Bearcats had a chance to win in the closing seconds.

Cincinnati will get a chance at redemption when the Knights come to town on February 8.

Up Next

The Bearcats return to Fifth Third Arena to play Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. ET.

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