All Bearcats

Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball Highlights From 69-65 Home Win Over Utah

Cincinnati has stacked three-straight wins entering the final few weeks of the season.
Russell Heltman|
Feb 15, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam, back, hugs forward Baba Miller after their team’s win against the Utah Utes at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam, back, hugs forward Baba Miller after their team’s win against the Utah Utes at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

In this story:

Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI —  The  69-65 Sunday matinee win over Utah wasn't easy or pretty, but the Bearcats basketball team got the job done to win three conference games in a row for the first time this season.

Cincinnati went on a 9-0 run to close the game and was led by Day Day Thoma (16 points, two assists) and Moustapha Thiam (15 points, seven rebounds).

UC head coach Wes Miller was thankful his team finally executed in a crunch-time moment. The Bearcats entered Sunday 0-5 this season in close games.

"I thought we just stayed poised," Miller said about the final stretch. "I thought we held our poise, and then guys made some big-time plays in the last couple of minutes of the game. Jizzle throws like a terrible pass coming up to Floor to JC (Jalen Celestine), I mean, just bad tonight. Again, he has an out (due to sickness), but JC gets it, goes to two feet in the paint, and drops it off the bottom for the dunk. We kept our poise, no matter what was going on, and made some plays. So I thought that was the difference again. Big step for us tonight."

Cincinnati has the middle of the week off from games before picking the Big 12 action back up on the road Saturday at Kansas.

Freshman guard Keyshuan Tillery is trying to keep his recent strong play rolling inside Allen Fieldhouse.

“Yeah, for sure. The confidence that I try to have daily, I try to keep it high because that impacts the way I play," Tillery said on Sunday. "Having confidence and getting confidence from my coaches and my teammates. That helps. Wes (Miller) tells me all the time he is going to be hard on me. The other coaches tell me they are going to be hard on me. It just betters me. I definitely see myself playing at the big stage later down the line.”

Check out all of the highlights below:

Bookmark Bearcats Talk for the latest news, breakdowns, and so much more. Be sure to check out our YouTube page as well, starting with the video below.

Also, don't miss the podcast, Bearcat Blitz, wherever you get your shows!

Apple: http://apple.co/4fI26zj

Spotify: http://bit.ly/3OqvD4l

YouTube: http://bit.ly/414XiQ6

-----

Be sure to keep it locked in on Bearcats Talk, as we cover the trials and tribulations of the Big 12!

Follow Bearcats Talk on Twitter: @BearcatsTalk

Like Bearcats Talk on Facebook: Bearcats Talk

Published
Russ Heltman
RUSSELL HELTMAN

Russ Heltman is on the Bearcats and Bengals beat for On SI. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.

Share on XFollow @russheltman11
Home/Basketball