Winners And Losers From Cincinnati's 74-73 loss to Texas

The Bearcats suffered their first Big 12 loss of the season on Tuesday after Max Abmas hit a game winner to give the Longhorns a 74-73 victory over the Bearcats.

Author:
Neil Meyer
Updated:
Jan 10, 2024 6:56 AM EST

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Cincinnati Bearcats

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) fell to No. 25 Texas (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) on Tuesday night in their first-ever Big 12 home game.

The Longhorns took advantage of a late-missed free throw and got the ball in their best player's hands, Max Abmas, who struggled mightily until the final minutes of this one. The shifty point guard did what he's done many times before over the recent years. Abmas drove by Day-Day Thomas and appeared to travel but the refs played on, where he dished it off to Dylan Disu, who then found Abmas from about eight feet out and rose to the occasion by burying a mid-range jumper to give the Longhorns a 74-73 lead with six seconds remaining.

With a timeout in his back pocket, Wes Miller elected to play to the Bearcats' strength and that was for them to try and push the tempo following the made basket. The Bearcats would get the ball to Simas Lukošius, who knocked down the big shot just moments before, where he had a clean look at the rim with two seconds remaining, but his three-point shot attempt was just off the mark.

"Both games here in conference play, we have turned the ball over at an incredibly high rate, look down and see multiple guys with two or more turnovers. That is the kind of stuff why you lost the game, not free throws." Wes Miller said. "I hurt every time we lose, so do our players. Nobody is going to beat themselves up more tonight than John Newman and that breaks my heart.”

Winners

Simas Lukošius: The 6-foot-7 guard led the Bearcats with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and was a staple for the Bearcats in the second half. Lukošius, hit consecutive tough, contested shots down the final stretch, including a tough fadeaway as the shot clock expired to give the Bearcats a 73-72 lead with 25 seconds remaining.

Lukošius has battled all kinds of adversity throughout the season, but man has he been a huge bright spot for the Bearcats over the last few games. His performance tonight said everything Bearcats fans needed to know about a player of his caliber.

Lukošius finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. 14 of those 19 points came in the second half as he willed the Bearcats down the stretch. When Lukošius is on for the Bearcats he makes this team that much scarier, as the Bearcats were without sharpshooter CJ Fredrick again for this one. Lukosius has embraced his opportunity with Fredrick down and has quickly become an offensive threat for Wes Miller and the Bearcats.

"I thought Simas was special tonight." said Wes Miller "He made some big-time plays down the stretch when our team needed it the most. That is what big-time players do, we have known that about him for a long time, but he was special tonight."

Jamille Reynolds: I thought Reynolds had his best game of the season after finishing with 11 points on a near-perfect, 5-of-6 shooting. Reynolds came in and provided a huge spark off the bench for the Bearcats on both ends of the floor, and it started with his defensive presence on Longhorns forward Dylan Disu, who was a mismatch problem all night. Disu finished with a game-high 33 points, but 19 of those came in the first half.

I thought once Wes Miller made the substitution of Reynolds instead of Bandaogo or Oguama to help alleviate some of the problems Disu was creating inside, that is when momentum started to change.

It allowed the seven-footer to get going on the offensive side of the ball as well get to the rim and attack the paint. Reynolds had multiple possessions where he finished through contact on the block and was able to throw down some vicious dunks along the way. That was a great sign, as Reynolds has started to find his footing over the last few games.

Viktor Lakhin: The Russian big man has been the most consistent player for the Bearcats all season, and it continued tonight. Lakhin affected the game early after scoring eight of the Bearcats' first ten points in what seemed to be a night where he could simply dominate on all aspects. The big man finished with 17 points and six rebounds on a 58% clip.

Losers

Aziz Bandaogo: Bandaogo is coming off a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double performance vs BYU on Saturday, but that didn't continue as he was in some visible discomfort from the back injury that kept him out for nearly three weeks.

Dylan Disu was getting to the rack with ease tonight for the Longhorns, but Bandaogo couldn't find a way to contain the talented forward on Tuesday night. This resulted in the decision from Wes Miller to rock with Jamille Reynolds more in the second half to disrupt the high ball screen actions from Disu. Something, that played in the Bearcats' favor despite Disu dropping a career-high 33 points.

Bandaogo, finished with zero points on 0-of-3 shooting while grabbing five rebounds across his 16 minutes of action. Now, that is a performance that is unlike Bandaogo, but the Longhorns' play style could play a huge factor in that outcome.

That physicality will be something to keep an eye on as the Bearcats head into their matchup vs No. 14 Baylor on Saturday night down in Waco, Texas. Can Bandaogo respond to another tough, physical, and long team like Baylor?

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