HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Thanks to previously scheduled flooring replacement work at Fifth Third Arena, the No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats played a road game in the second round of the Hofstra University National Invitation Tournament.
The Bearcats ended the season with a 79-65, 23-12 win over Hofstra and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. Hofstra ends 25-10. It was their second home loss of the season.
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The Pride knocked off No. 1 Rutgers 88-86 in overtime on Tuesday to earn its first home game since Senior Day on Feb. 25.
Ody Oguama had a double-double for the Bearcats with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Four others were in double figures as Landers Nolley II had 20, Viktor Lakhin 16 and David DeJulius 15. Lakhin had eight rebounds and DeJulius had nine assists.
Aaron Estrada led Hofstra with 18 points.
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UC will advance to the NIT quarterfinals vs. the winner of the No. 3 seed, Colorado vs. Utah Valley, on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. The Buffaloes defeated Seton Hall in the first round as Utah Valley knocked off No. 2 New Mexico. The game will be played on either Tuesday or Wednesday. With Fifth Third Arena unavailable again, UC would be on the road.
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FINAL UC 79, Hofstra 65
3:48 left, UC up 15 and at the line
Viktor Lakhin is on the line outside of added time. Bearcats lead 73-58. Ody Oguama has 14 points and 10 rebounds. UC has only lost once when they have had someone double-double. DeJulius has 15 points and nine assists. UC has made 7 of its last 8 shots.
Media timeout 7:18 left
UC’s first 3-pointer of the half comes from Mika Adams-Woods to give UC its biggest lead at 66-53. UC has four in double figures and Adams-Woods has eight. They closed against Virginia Tech last Wednesday, they’ll need the same effort here.
9:22 left, Bearcats up 10
Jeremiah Davenport’s first points of the game came on the drive to give UC a 61-51 lead. Strangely, both teams only took four shots in this half, all of which missed. UC went 3-of-12 on the day and outshot Hofstra 32-20.
Media timeout 13:18 left, UC up 6
Landers Nolley II goes for a pair outside of overtime. Kalu Ezikpe checking in for his first job and Mika Adams-Woods coming in with three errors. Nolley leads all scorers with 16 wins. The Bearcats have led for all but 38 seconds in this game.
First overtime of the second half, 16:11 left
UC leads Hofstra 48-41. The board’s dominance continues 26-15 and David DeJulius still finds Viktor Lakhin. Big Vik with nine now and Ody Oguama has added eight points and nine rebounds. Hofstra hit the first bucket of the half to cut the lead to 40-39. UC is on an 8-2 run since then.
HALFTIME: UC leads Hofstra 40-37
Viktor Lakhin misses a pick and roll that would have put the Bearcats up five.
Landers Nolley II and David DeJulius each had 11 points, Ody Oguama had eight points and seven rebounds. UC dominates on the boards 23-10. The Bearcats are shooting 51.6%, but just 3-of-9 on threes. Hofstra shot 44.4%, but has made 6-of-11 threes. Tyler Thomas has 14 and Darlinstone Dubar 11. Leading scorer Aaron Estrada with nine. The Bearcats lead 20-4 at halftime and have a 19-2 rebound advantage.
3:42 left in the first half, overtime
Darlinstone Dubar has tied the game with a 3-pointer in a 6-0 Hofstra run. Everything is even in 31. Landers Nolley II hasn’t scored in almost eight minutes. DeJulius 11 for UC, Tyler Thomas 10 for Hofstra. Bearcats just 1-7 on threes, Pride 5-9.
Media timeout, 6:43 first half
A three-shot foul on Jeremiah Davenport, so Hofstra will shoot for this one. UC’s lead is 28-22. The Bearcats are up as many as nine. Nolley and DeJulius each had eight points. 17-6 rebound advantage for the Bearcats as Oguama has seven.
Media timeout, 11:17 first half
Dan Skillings Jr. fouled out and sent Aaron Estrada to the line after overtime. UC leads 22-13. UC’s Nolley has eight, Oguama and DeJulius each have six. Oguama has five boards and the Bearcats are outscoring Hofstra there 13-4. 5 of UC’s last 7 field goals.
Media timeout 15:52 first half
Pretty decent start for the Bearcats, who are 10-5 and have gone on a 6-0 run. David DeJulius with his pair of buckets and Nolley is 4-for-4 from the free throw line getting Hofstra defenders in the air. UC has a 6-2 rebounding advantage. Oguama with three starts.
Player introductions
UC is white. Hofstra in blue. Hofstra is 11-1 this season in their building. I spoke with Landers Nolley II’s mother today and Dan Skillings Jr. has family here as well. Nolley’s mother flew in from Atlanta.