Cincinnati Bearcats basketball notches 10th win by beating Stetson

For a third straight season, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats have reached 10 wins under coach Wes Miller before the new year. Friday night at Fifth Third Arena, UC topped Stetson's Hatters, 83-75 in front of 9,762 fans decked out for Ugly Sweater Night.

It was a career night for sophomore Dan Skillings Jr. who scored on an assortment of shots and missing just three, to finish with a career-high 29 points. It was his second career double-double as he also hauled down 10 rebounds.

"Coach just tells me to keep shooting," Skillings said. "He's just got confidence in me and that's what makes me able to knock shots down and keep being aggressive. Coach kept telling me it was going to come."

The 29 points were more than Skillings' last five games combined.

UC basketball UC Bearcats basketball merry, sometimes rusty against Merrimack in win No. 9

UC had four players in double figures for the first time since the Bryant game Dec. 12. Joining Skillings were Day Day Thomas with 17 points, Jamille Reynolds with 14 and Viktor Lakhin just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

UC outshot Stetson 52% to 40% though Stetson made nine 3-pointers to the Bearcats' seven. The Hatters made 24-of-29 free throws, shooting 12 more than the Bearcats. UC, as it's done all season, outrebounded the opponent, 40-24.

Here are 5 takeaways from UC win No. 10

1. Double-dippin' Dan

Skillings had 16 points by halftime but then didn't score for the first 12 minutes of the second half. Over that final stretch, he added 13 more to surpass his previous career-high set in the NKU game back on Nov. 19. It was his second double-double, the last coming last season vs. Bryant when he posted 14 points and 13 rebounds.

"I was just being aggressive going to the rim and using my height and my weight and my strength to finish strong," Skillings said.

Said UC coach Wes Miller, "We need some guys to emerge. We all know Dan's capable of it. His talent's obvious. It has to start with him defensively. He's got to go in the game and be really energized to make an impact defensively. He usually makes an impact on the offensive board which is something I think is a standard he needs to stay with. He just needs to play the right way and I thought he did that tonight for the first time in a really long time. What happens? The ball just finds him."

2. Don't poke the Bear(cat)

It was a night of firsts for UC post-player Jamille Reynolds. In just his third game as a Bearcat, he had eight points in the first half off the bench when he didn't miss a shot. He added six more in the second half proving his prowess in the post. He finished with 14 points in less than 20 minutes, his first UC game in double digits and it included his first UC 3-pointer.

"I hope so," Reynolds said when asked if there would be more trifectas in his future. "Don't leave me open!"

Reynolds also did some shoving with Stetson's 7-footer Trayton Thompson late in the game. Teammate Lakhin intervened and some physicality ensued which might not always be the best idea around the 6-11, 275-pound Reynolds. While he and Lakhin were issued technicals and the benches briefly cleared, Thompson was given a pair of T's and an early shower.

3. Bench depth rules

While Miller wasn't enthused about giving up 32 points to Stetson's Jalen Blackmon his bench came through strong which will be a necessity in the Big 12. UC's reserves outscored Stetson's 46-7. Skillings and Reynolds accounted for 43 of those.

"That's who I am, I'm a big-time post-player," Reynolds said. "I showed that to everybody."

4. Holiday dish

C.J. Fredrick was back on the floor after missing the Merrimack game with a sore hamstring. Fredrick played more minutes than any Bearcat and while he had just six points on a pair of 3-pointers, he was the master of the sweet, holiday dish with a game-high seven assists. It was a career-high for Fredrick who had six for the Iowa Hawkeyes in Nov. of 2020.

"They run him off the line and he was playing like a team player," Skillings said.

5. Next Cat in

Fredrick made his return to the lineup but UC was without 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo for the second straight game with a back issue from the Dayton game. Also, Simas Lukošius aggravated a shoulder in practice Thursday and wasn't available. Miller didn't think it was serious and an MRI revealed some damage that came from being struck as a pedestrian at the intersection of Corry and Jefferson earlier in the month.

"We can have three guys have an off-night and there's going to be another player that can do the same thing," Skillings said. "We've got a bunch of players that can get 10 rebounds. We've got a bunch of players that can score 20. We've got a bunch of players that can get seven assists like C.J. Fredrick did tonight."

Quadrant 4 no more

The win over Stetson caps off UC's slate of Quadrant 4 teams with the Bearcats going 8-0.

Next game

The Bearcats reconvene at Fifth Third Arena next Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. for their final non-conference game against Evansville's Purple Aces who are 10-2.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats basketball gets 10th win Friday night, beating Stetson