Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Holds Off Temple 88-83 In Overtime

Cincinnati made its most single-game free throws of the Wes Miller era.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (19-10, 10-6) kept their chances at a top-three seed in the AAC Tournament alive on Wednesday night with a 88-83 win over Temple (15-14, 9-7).

The Bearcats fought hard on the glass (35-29) and made the most of their free throws (28-30) to power the win. Landers Nolley II (20 points, 5 rebounds) iced things in the overtime period with a 4-of-4 run from the field.

Damian Dunn (34 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) filled in masterfully for an absent Khalif Battle, but the Owls still missed their leading scorer in the loss. Viktor Lakhin's (10 points, 3 rebounds) return gave UC just the right advantage it needed in the paint to snap a three-game losing streak in this series.

"I guess to put it in perspective, we were in the exact same position at Tulane with the exact same result. I thought we handled it completely differently," UC head coach Wes Miller said. "I loved how our guys responded in overtime. Was it clean down the stretch? No. Did we execute offensively like I want? No. You know, did we get to every stop we needed to get? No, you know, but the will and the mentality to win, that's what you're pleased with as a coach and to be honest, that's way more important than the basketball x and o’s stuff."

Here's the Three Man Weave on a win that gave Cincinnati sole possession of fourth place in the AAC standings.

Free Throw Simplicity

Pay close attention to Wednesday's result, and it's not hard to find the main reason for Cincinnati winning this game: 28 made free throws.

UC started the game 19-for-19, eclipsing a 2005-06 matchup against Louisville where the team went 18-for-18 from the charity stripe. It was the program's most makes in a game since beating Temple in 2020.

In a tight game like this one, both teams performed well in that department, but UC's near-perfection made the difference.

"The strength of this team is shooting the ball," Miller said about the free throw success. "It is good to see we got to the foul line more tonight. That's really important to be successful down the stretch."

The Bearcats had to hunt those freebies with some heady pump fakes and aggressive downhill drives. Cincinnati's three-point diet was a little down once again, even though they did shoot well from deep. They've done a nice job of winning with paint attacks over the past few games.

That versatility is imperative during the three games in three days stretch Cincinnati wants to play in the AAC Tournament. The shots probably won't fall all three days, making those free throws and rebound imperative.

It was a team effort on the glass as UC had five different players corral at least 3 rebounds. Jeremiah Davenport (10 points, 6 rebounds) stood out the most as he lays it all on the line for possessions in these final games.

Wednesday wasn't a masterclass from UC, but the simple fundamentals kept them rolling along the 19th win of the season.

Dan Drives

Dan Skillings was an impact player on offense against Temple and more than made up for a few defensive lapses. The freshman posted a career-high 15 points to go with 2 turnovers. It marked his third double-digit scoring performance of the season.

"I know a couple guys on the (Temple) team and we talked before the season," Skillings said about growing up near Temple. "This summer and stuff. See them at events. We talked about this matchup. So it was good to get them back for sure. A good team win for us."

He showed the inside-out potential that should blossom inside Fifth Third Arena in the coming years. David DeJulius (20 points, 7 assists) found him on a few cross-court triples. Plus, he made some plays himself.

"Dan Skillings probably has his best game as a Bearcat," Miller said. "That's just so good to see because we need to use him more and we need more depth on the perimeter."

The baseline drives from Skillings were hard to deal with for Temple's 113th-ranked defense nationally. It wasn't all perfect, as the freshman got caught in some rough defensive positions and turned the ball over more than anyone wants.

All of it encapsulated a growing player with a way higher ceiling than we've seen so far in his career. Skillings had struggled to impact contests recently, posting a 2.3 average game score in the past four outings.

The Pennsylvania native hit a 9.6 game score against Temple.

"After his first rotation he was so much better," Miller said about Skillings. "Defensively his first rotation he was good on offense. He had a bunch of defensive errors and after that he was really good. That gives you some confidence coming down the stretch."

Dan Skillings is really good. 😍@espn | https://t.co/BLm7GlxnlJ pic.twitter.com/dzyH9Vbmor

— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) February 23, 2023

Dunn, Miller Pick Up Slack

Temple was up against a wall once they got off the bus without Khalif Battle. The Owls' leading scorer did not travel with the team for the game, prompting Dunn and Hysier Miller (13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) to drive the backcourt.

Both did a nice job breaking down Cincinnati's defense in ball-screen actions. They had plenty of clear rim drives in the first half—during a really efficient shooting two-point shooting stretch over the first 20 minutes.

Miller posted Temple's second-best efficiency score (18), as he led the team in assists and shot nicely from the field. Dunn didn't have as much impact outside the scoring tally, but his signature mid-range magic showed up inside Fifth Third.

He gave UC plenty of issues on the Owls' three-game series win streak, and that continued on Wednesday.

Still, the Owls needed a lot more impact down low and Jamille Reynolds (11 points, 3 rebounds) wasn't enough in that department. Nolley held Dunn to 9-of-21 shooting, but the 14-of-14 free throw line from the guard helped him stay efficient.

"I feel like that's my emphasis every game," Nolley said about taking the top perimeter defensive assignment. "I'm guarding either the best guard or the second-best guard if David don't got him so for us that's what I look forward to every night."

Cincinnati now prepares for a huge game against Memphis on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. It's available on fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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