In their second-round matchup of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Cincinnati could not compete down the stretch with Ohio State. The Buckeyes defeated the Bearcats by a score of 81-53 on Tuesday following their first-round loss to San Diego State. Cincinnati, comparatively, dropped their second straight game of the Invitational and third straight game overall.
Similar to the game against Arizona, the Bearcats were able to hang around for much of the first half. Cincinnati opened on an 8-2 run thanks in particular to back-to-back 3-point jumpers from Jeremiah Davenport. Ohio State answered immediately afterwards with a 9-0 run for themselves to take an 11-8 advantage. Following the offensive spurts from each team, neither group took a lead larger than four points until the four-minute mark of the first half. The Buckeyes opened up an 11-point lead after a Zed Key layup made it 35-24 with 2:43 remaining in the half. A layup from Mika Adams-Woods cut the lead back down to single digits, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Brice Sensabaugh gave Ohio State their largest lead of the game going into the locker room.
An upperclassman for the Buckeyes, Key understands the importance of bouncing back following a rough outing. “I just had to come out from the beginning with more juice,” he said. “That was my issue yesterday, trying to feel out the game and you can’t do that at this level. My teammates found me in the right spots around the rim, so I was making shots. I’m thankful for my teammates for finding me around the rim and putting the trust in me to score the ball.”
Key scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, leading all scorers for the game. He grabbed eight rebounds as well, also the most of all players in the game.
After scoring 63 points in a back-and-forth second half against Arizona a day ago, the Bearcats evidently ran out of steam. Cincinnati failed to convert on a field goal until nearly five minutes into the second half. At that point, the game was already out of reach, as the Buckeyes had just expanded their lead to 47-28.
The trio of Key, Sensabaugh and Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes offensively. Sensabaugh, a freshman for Ohio State this year, played in 20 minutes off the bench. Unlike Key, his presence was felt behind the 3-point line rather than inside. Sensabaugh buried three triples on five attempts, scoring a total of 17 points, second among all scorers behind Key.
A fellow freshman, Thornton did not make much of an impact outside of scoring the ball, but was very effective in doing just that. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers on three attempts. He was also a perfect 3-for-3 on free throw attempts for the game.
In just his first season, Thornton is adjusting to the play style of opposing defenses. “It starts off in practice,” he explained. “Isaac Likekele, me and him go back and forth, pushing each other extremely hard in practice and it translates in the game. When I see [opposing defenses] I’m not as startled and I’m not really as scared. I’ve been doing this the whole summer and in the preseason so when I saw it I felt comfortable and I’m glad we got the dub today.”
Much of what the Buckeyes were able to do against Cincinnati stemmed from the experience of playing San Diego State, according to Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann. “I think we were able to sustain an effort a little bit longer than what we did last night,” he stated. “I think that was the biggest thing. San Diego State had a lot to do with that. It was a really, really physical game, [as physical] as I’ve certainly been a part of.”
Holtmann also mentioned the defensive attentiveness to Landers Nolley II, who scored 33 points a game ago. “He’s a really good player. He’s a really good offensive player,” he stated. “I just give Isaac Likekele a lot of credit. I thought he made it very difficult for him all night. Great attention to detail, I thought Isaac was tremendous on Landers.”
Nolley struggled to find a groove shooting the ball against Ohio State, scoring just two points on six shots. He was shut out from behind the arc after making nine triples a day ago. Not many of his teammates found much success scoring the ball either. Viktor Lakhin led the Bearcats with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting while adding four rebounds and two blocks. Adams-Woods trailed him with nine points on 3-for-7 shooting and four rebounds. Jeremiah Davenport added eight points and three rebounds.
Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller complimented Ohio State on their physicality following the game. “Give Ohio State credit, they were the more physical team tonight on both sides of the ball,” he said. “They took it to us there, especially in the second half.” Miller also acknowledged the lack of production from his trio of playmakers in the blowout loss. “Landers, Jeremiah and David (DeJulius) all struggled offensively tonight,” he said. “They’re our three most prolific offensive players. We have to find better ways to free up our best offensive players and make sure they’re in the right positions. Obviously [they] can put up big numbers, they’ve done it throughout their careers. We’ve got to make sure we put them in position to do it more consistently.”
Ohio State shot 47 percent from the field compared to 38.5 percent from Cincinnati. Neither team shot the ball well from 3-point land, with Ohio State going 6-for-20 and Cincinnati shooting 4-for-18. Free throw shooting continues to be an issue for the Bearcats as they made just 9 of 15 free throws. Cincinnati is shooting 66 percent from the charity strike on the season.
The Buckeyes will play their third and final game of the MJM Invitational against No. 21 Texas Tech in the fifth-place game. The Red Raiders fell to No. 10 Creighton in the first round before beating Louisville in the second round. Cincinnati will try to snap their three-game losing skid against Louisville in the seventh-place game. Prior to their loss against Texas Tech, the Cardinals were blown out by No. 9 Arkansas in the first round. They have yet to win a game this season, having lost each of their first three games by a single point at home.
