Three Man Weave: UC Beats Ashland 71-57 Behind a hot Backcourt

The Cincinnati guards carried the torch to victory against the Eagles.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 18, 2021 2:58 PM EST

CINCINNATI — UC (9-3) worked fast to find a new opponent for Saturday afternoon and dispatched Ashland University (5-4) in a 71-57 victory.

The backcourt drove Cincinnati to victory as David Dejulius, and Jeremiah Davenport showed out against Ashland.

Here's the Three Man Weave from the Bearcats latest contest at Fifth Third Arena.

Dejulius Adds Three-Level Scoring

The yin-yang 2021 season continued for Cincinnati's offensive production. In one game it's the bigs asserting their will inside and leading the offense. In the next game, it's UC's guards who carry the baton.

Dejulius (season-high 24 points, three rebounds, and three assists) showed off all of his guard skills on Saturday afternoon. He was highly efficient, going 9-for-14 from the field while keeping the ball on a string in the Bearcats pick-and-roll.

Wes Miller's team found a lot of success in the two-man game on Saturday. Dejulius used screens soundly to find Davenport (22 points, four rebounds, two assists) on a few open triple tries. Ashland had no guards able to put ball pressure on Dejulius, and he took advantage all afternoon.

Crashing The Glass

Cincinnati hammered the Eagles in the rebounding department 35-28. Upsets often require a big rebounding advantage so the underdog can get more bites at the apple. Not the case in this bout at Fifth Third Arena.

The Bearcats didn't need much rebounding production from the bigs in an all-around team effort. Ashland had just one player over 6-foot-7 in its rotation. John Newman III (seven points, six rebounds, three assists) led the team in a balanced performance.

Ashland also struggled to keep the rock when they did get rebounds. Cincinnati played with relentless on-ball energy in the halfcourt, forcing nine steals on the day.

Davenport Dialing In From Downtown

When Davenport is hitting jump shots, this Cincinnati team is a brutal team to take out. The junior scored 22 points and led all players in three-point baskets.

That area of Davenport's game is trending up over the past two weeks. Since going 0-for-6 from deep against Monmouth, Davenport is 15-for-36 (41.6%) on outside shots.

Cincinnati is now 8-1 when Davenports scores in double-figures. He has been the Bearcats bellwether so far this season. The junior is ready to keep this strong-shooting stretch rolling on Tuesday against Tennessee Tech.

The game tips off from Fifth Third Arena at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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