Three Man Weave: Bearcats Dominate EKU 87-69 to Cap Homestand

Cincinnati ravaged the Colonels on the glass.

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CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0) threw it back to classic UC ball in an 87-69 triumph over Eastern Kentucky (1-2). Wes Miller's team was physically dominant from the opening tip, behind a 51-35 rebounding advantage and continued havoc in transition (14-4 FB points).

Jeremiah Davenport (19 points, four rebounds) had his best early showing of the season storming to 14 opening-half points that built a nice UC cushion. He was one of five players that scored in double-figures across a balanced 40 minutes.

Things got a little close in the second half, but the Bearcats cemented their first spread cover (16-points) of the season with a 14-2 game-closing run.

Here's the Three Man Weave on UC's final home bout until Nov. 30.

Fundamental Attack

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UC is settling into its tried and true identity throughout the decades, and Sunday was a nice encapsulation. Ody Oguama (t-career-high 12 rebounds, two points) controlled the boards all game and gave them plenty of margin for error in another game where the shooting efficiency was spotty.

Cincinnati hovered around 40% FG for the second-straight outing, but the energy more than made up for it. UC got over 30% of their points off layups and held a 25-11 second-chance points advantage for the full game. 

The fundamentals stayed sound on the charity stripe as well. UC and EKU both shot over 19 free throws, but UC (73.1%) cashed in much more often (EKU, 45%)

The Bearcats communicated well on misses, stayed alert, and didn't start the defensive break until they were sure a Colonel had possession. Five different players had at least four rebounds in the game.

That early energy on the glass proved vital when both teams got tired. Cincinnati only outrebounded the Colonels by three in the final 20 minutes.

Davenport, Dejulius, Hensley Hold Serve

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The DDH trio took form for the first time on Sunday to great success against EKU. Davenport drove the first-half offense while Dejulius (team-high 22 points) took the wheel for the final 20 minutes. 

The Bearcats leading scorers from last season stayed efficient on big volume to overcome a rough shooting game from Landers Nolley and Rob Phinisee (3-of-12 FGs). 

The veteran savvy was evident from Dejulius in the final frame—as EKU chipped away on UC's lead, Dejulius ramped up the speed of the game at his leisure. He led UC in true shooting % and usage rate on Sunday. It's not easy to be the most efficient scorer while shouldering the greatest offensive load. 

Davenport played at varying speeds as well, his stamina is much improved from last season, and he played sounder defense than normal down the stretch than we saw eight months ago.

The trio rounds out with the second-highest scoring mark of Jarrett Hensley's career (11 points, three rebounds). The forward was all over the floor as an energy presence on Sunday. He reshaped his shot and body this summer to great avail.

Hensley led the team in +/- (+21) to stamp the second-best game of his career. He took full advantage of more minutes due to John Newman III's knee injury. Miller said Newman will "miss some time" but did not have a timetable postgame.

When role players like Hensley bring that kind of energy at home, UC is a very tough team to keep up.

Blanton Buoys

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The Colonels' only chance of staying in this game came via forward Devontae Blanton (18 points). The Ohio native was the latest wing to give UC some problems at multiple levels of the floor. 

Blanton wasn't efficient (8-of-20 FGs) but posted a 22-game score, one of two Colonels in double-digits for the game. It was his fifth-highest-scoring game in college and 12th-contest scoring at least 14 points.

He only took 11 shots in the opening two games—but felt a few more open opportunities against UC. The senior posted 20 FGs and did a lot of his damage banging inside for hard buckets and sprinkled in a few outside shots to keep UC honest. 

Dynamic wings are hard for any defense to guard, and UC will need to keep its handle on those matchups.

Cincinnati starts that jump in talent and their first road trip on Wednesday against Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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