Three Man Weave: Bearcats Blow Big Second-Half Lead In 75-71 Loss To East Carolina

Cincinnati concluded its AAC tenure on an eight-game winning streak against East Carolina.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Feb 16, 2023 6:54 AM EST

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (17-10, 8-6) suffered a stunning 75-71 loss to the East Carolina Pirates (4-8, 13-12) on Wednesday night to put any AAC Tournament title run hopes in a rough spot.

The Pirates owned the glass (46-27 rebounds) and played with a passion in its first game following the sudden death of play-by-play announcer Jeff Charles this past week.

ECU broke a seven-game losing streak to the Cats' and overcame a 16-point deficit to do it. The entire rotation helped post a complete effort in the final 10 minutes—outscoring Cincinnati 26-6.

Only Jeremiah Davenport (19 points, 8 rebounds) shot over 50% for the Bearcats, as UC posted just 4 second-half assists.

"We did not play well in the second-half," Wes Miller told reporters after the game. "We did not play well in the second half. We did not play well after we made good plays. We weren't focused. We didn't finish the game even though we had opportunities to do that. So, you're frustrated on every possible level and disappointed."

Here's the Three Man Weave on one of the largest second-half comebacks in East Carolina history.

Receding Rebounds

Cincinnati took it on the chin in the rebounding department on Wednesday night, lowlighted by 19 offensive boardss. The Bearcats felt Lakhin's absence in Greenville.

"South Florida and tonight," Miller said about UC's rebounding issues. "We tried to address it this week in practice. We got destroyed on the backboards. It's not OK, it's frustrating."

It was a predictable second-half comeback as ECU planted the seeds for fatigue early on and watered them late. A switching defense gave Cincinnati fits once again this season down the stretch as the Bearcats' ball movement went silent near the hoop.

East Carolina's physicality on the glass and in the paint hurt UC in more ways than one. Kalu Ezikpe (8 points, 4 fouls) and Ody Oguama (6 points, 4 fouls) couldn't find much of a rhythm in the screen game down the stretch because of foul trouble.

"We were slow to the ball," Miller said. "They beat us to a bunch of balls. That gives them energy and the game gets away from you."

Muting those two amplified the rebounding advantage even more as RJ Felton (15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) owned the final minutes. He was one of four Pirates to record at least 10 points and 4 rebounds.

The team's effort, heart, and passion during a heavy-hearted week were admirable to watch. It also produced a big win.

Double 1,000

Cincinnati had two players cross the 1,000-career point mark in Davenport and Ezikpe. The former did it with a bang, starting 4-of-4 from deep while keeping UC alive on the glass.

Davenport has now shot over 40% from deep on nearly seven tries per game since the loss to Houston. He easily led the team on Wednesday with a 26-efficiency score. It was 12 points higher than any other UC player.

He's taking confident shots with clean form and mixing in more high-percentage looks.

If Davenport can bring this off the bench when the Bearcats get Viktor Lakhin back in the next couple of games, Cincinnati could still hang onto a top-five seed in the AAC Tournament.

UC still needs a jolt to its banged-up rotation as John Newman III's status looms for the home stretch.

Ausar Ascends

East Carolina's developing big man was fresh off his best career performance, and freshman Ezra Ausar (14 points, 14 rebounds) put up another clutch outing Wednesday.

He's now posted three-straight games of 14-plus points.

The forward showed off nice footwork and savvy eyes to drive the Pirates' rebounding advantage. Ausar posted a team-high 5 offensive rebounds and synced up well with Brandon Johnson (team-high 16 points, 6 rebounds).

Johnson posted a bounce-back outing after struggling in Clifton last month. They made a few plays during the Pirates' key run late in the second half, as Johnson went 2-of-2 from deep in the frame.

The Pirates missed leading scoring Javon Small for the seventh-straight game. It showed in their consistency, but Ausar offered plenty of margin for error.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," DeJulius said about the loss. "We had some lapses where we didn't play how we play for 40 minutes. That's kind of what happened down the stretch. Kudos to them, they had a great game plan and they executed down the stretch."

Cincinnati now faces UCF on Sunday at noon ET on ESPNU. Catch the game via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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