Cincinnati Bearcats basketball beats Bradley in second round of NIT

The despair of losing point guard Day Day Thomas to a broken foot this week was quickly replaced with joy Saturday afternoon. Freshman guard Jizzle James stepped up with a career-high 25 points, leading the University of Cincinnati Bearcats over Bradley 74-57 in a second-round NIT game.

The 4,732 who attended the game in the lower-bowl configuration of Fifth Third Arena can say they witnessed the first start of James who put on quite a show.

"It doesn't surprise me with the opportunity given," UC coach Wes Miller said. "He also had his career-high for how he played defensively. That's really neat to see the growth that he's had and you can see the future he's going to have."

Dan Skillings Jr added 20 points and Simas Lukošius hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. UC improved to 22-14 and will continue their season in the NIT quarterfinals.

"It's great to be playing for something in late March," Miller said. "That's a standard we're trying to set here. Certainly, everybody knows we'd rather be playing in the NCAA, but we are playing for a championship."

The Bearcats will play at top-seeded Indiana State at 9 p.m. Tuesday in the NIT quarterfinals. ISU beat Minnesota 76-64 on Sunday to advance. The game will be on ESPN with the winner going to the NIT semifinals at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse.

5 takeaways from UC's bouncing of Bradley

1. Jizzlin', sizzlin' Bearcats

The UC freshman made the most of his first start in 36 games, missing just five shots. He finished 11-for-16 with a pair of 3-pointers and the career-high 25 points. Most importantly, he turned the ball over just once.

While it wasn't the ideal scenario to earn a start, with Thomas watching on crutches, not many doubted James would be ready for the moment. After the game, he did an ESPN interview and greeted well-wishers before being hustled off for more post-game interviews.

"It felt crazy but it was like a dream-come-true moment at the same time," James said. "I was proud of how I played and contributed to the game. I just had to take it all in."

While many like to dazzle from deep, Jizzle likes to sizzle from mid-range. From 10-15 feet he is lethal and while some may call it "old school", no one objects to 25 points in the scorebook.

"I perfected that shot in high school," James said. "I just always worked on it. It's a higher percentage of me making that, than three. I'd just rather take the two."

2. Almost wire-to-wire

Bradley hit its first 3-pointer of the game and then Darius Hannah made a hook shot at 18:57 as Bradley led 5-3. Hannah would not score again and 25 seconds later, John Newman III hit a 3-pointer to give UC a 6-5 lead. They never trailed from there, leading for the next 38:38.

With a double-digit lead for most of the game, Miller was able to get Josh Reed and Ody Oguama some minutes. Late in the game, C.J. Anthony, Landen Long, Chase Kirkwood and Sage Tolentino entered the contest. Of note, Viktor Lakhin did not play.

"Nothing going on there with Vik," Miller said. "We'll see if we can have a good practice leading up to whoever we play next. I need him to be ready. It was good to see guys get in there and contribute tonight."

3. Skillings Jr. flashes 2nd half skills

At halftime, Dan Skillings Jr. had missed all of his shots from the field and had just three free throws and no rebounds. He came out blazing in the second half, scoring 17 of his 20 points, making 7-of-10 shots from the field and adding five rebounds. His fast-break dunk gave UC a 15-point lead five minutes into the second half. A couple of minutes later, one of his patented twisting lay-ups made it a 19-point lead.

4. A grand day for Newman

With 1:53 to go in the first half, John Newman III made a free throw to give him 1,000 career points in his combined college career at UC and Clemson. He took a bow before the second free throw.

"It was a special moment for me," Newman said. "I've had a long career. I know it's not often that people reach 1,000 points. It was just so much love. I get love here. I love these fans, I love this program."

Newman didn't score in the second half but in addition to his eight points, he had a team-high nine rebounds, dished out four assists and had two steals.

"It was awesome the reception our fans gave him," Miller said. "That'll be something he'll remember forever."

5. Words of wisdom from Wardle

Bradley's coach is a former Marquette guard who knows a thing or two about 3-point shots (he made 197 during his career) has some advice for the Bearcats should they wind up in a quarterfinal game with Indiana State, also of the Missouri Valley Conference.

"Guard the three," Wardle said. "They're very good offensively. They're very skilled, high IQ, high-fueled players. They put four guards out there a lot of times. They can really shoot it. Cincinnati poses some problems for them with their size and length. They just need to guard the three then shoot the three like they did against us."

UC Bearcats basketball NIT Scouting report: Cincinnati Bearcats host Bradley in NIT second round

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats take down Bradley in second round NIT matinee