Winners and Losers from Cincinnati's 67-62 loss to No. 5 Houston

Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars improved to 7-0 over the Bearcats during the Wes Miller Era following their 67-62 victory this afternoon.

Author:
Neil Meyer
Feb 10, 2024 8:05 PM EST

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats dropped their 10th consecutive game against on Saturday 67-62.

Check out our Winners and Losers from the home loss.

Winners

Jamille Reynolds had a great day for the Bearcats in the frontcourt after finishing with eight points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Reynolds was a matchup to keep an eye on heading into this contest due to his physicality and size in the paint and would be an interesting matchup against a guy like J'Wan Roberts.

Reynolds set the tone for the Bearcats in the front court after Viktor Lakhin continued to struggle early, which quickly resulted in the Temple transfer seeing significant minutes early in this contest. The seven-footer took the roof off of Fifth Third Arena after a ferocious putback slam following a Dan Skillings missed three-point attempt late in the first half. That dunk quickly sent a message to the Bearcats as they finished the first half on a 15-2 run shortly after the dunk.

Reynolds has continued to show he is a valuable piece to this Bearcats team over the last three games, taking advantage of every opportunity he gets along the way. "Jamille gave us a big lift tonight," said UC head coach Wes Miller. "He continues to get better each and every day, which is not only a good sign for him but also our team."

Jizzle James

The freshman guard lived up to his potential here this afternoon despite having to take on the challenge of guarding one of the best point guards in all of college basketball, Jamal Shead. James came in and provided a huge spark right away in the first half and was quickly making it difficult for a guy like Shead to get anything going offensively.

Wes Miller has praised the work ethic of the talented point guard, and it was on full display tonight after finishing with 10 points, and three rebounds. The freshman also recorded a crucial block in the final minutes that sparked the Bearcats 7-0 run before the Cougars pulled away. He provided a huge spark on the offense end when the Bearcats desperately needed a basket and got by Shead with ease at times, including a fancy in-and-out move that had Shead caught off balanced resulting in an easy layup.

Hall of Fame coach Kelvin Sampson had high praise for the talented freshman following the game. "He doesn't look like a freshman, does he?" Sampson said. "He is so strong. I like his game a lot, and he's going to get much better. Jizzle will be someone that is going to be really good for them down the stretch."

John Newman III

The sixth-year forward continued to be the heart and soul of this Bearcats team following his double-double performance this afternoon. Newman finished with 10 points, and 10 rebounds, as well as another poster dunk over Joseph Tugler late in the second half.

On a night where Cincinnati struggled to rebound the basketball, Newman continued to step up when the team needed it the most like he has all season as his rebounding ability allowed Cincinnati to stay in this game.

Losers

Viktor Lakhin has continued to struggle since the UCF Game, a game he missed due to illness. The talented Russian forward played just 13 minutes this afternoon, with just three of those minutes coming in the second half. The Cougars did a great job eliminating Lakhin, as he was held scoreless for the first time this season. Lakhin has struggled to find his footing since returning to the lineup following the Central Florida game, but the Bearcats continue to instill their trust into the veteran forward as he looks to break this slump.

The Bearcats know what kind of team they are when Lakhin plays to his full potential as that has been something we have seen in spurts this season. They need Lakhin to be effective on both ends of the court.

Lakhin struggled on the defensive end this afternoon as J'Wan Roberts was able to dominate the paint behind his stellar 20-point and eight-rebound performance.

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