Three Man Weave: Cincinnati Survives Road Battle Against Howard 86-81

Cincinnati is 6-0 in a season for the first time under Wes Miller.

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats survived the first true road game of the season 86-81 against Howard in overtime. It was a better result than the first road game last season, which UC lost to Northern Kentucky, but still an impressive showing out of the Bison.

Dan Skillings (16 points, 6 rebounds) powered UC's offense as the sixth-man spark plug, tying for the team lead in rebounds. Viktor Lakhin (17 points, six rebounds, two blocks) was the high scorer on Tuesday for UC as he ate on the inside across an 0-for-2 night from deep.

The Bearcats never could get Howard out of rhythm long enough to pull away as the Bison (16.7 turnovers per game entering Tuesday, seventh-most nationally) turned it over just nine times. Seth Towns (24 points, seven rebounds) had a pair of those but that's about the only thing he did wrong as he scored the second-most individual points against Cincinnati so far this season. M

iller is now 2-1 in OT games at Cincinnati.

Skillings Skys

The Bearcats sophomore came to play on the road for UC as he led all scorers in the first half and was able to mine efficient scoring on a day where UC shot 48.5% from the field, but just 3-of-18 from deep.

Skillings showed off his raw athleticism with nice dunks and layups near the rim and continued to show life on the playmaking end this season with two assists. That's a key component to watch for as opponents continue to key in on his driving lanes more often this season which will create open shooter opportunities.

On defense, the sophomore showed off plenty of hustle and heady use of his length to get in passing lanes and cause havoc. He also hit a massive bucket on a drive in the final 20 seconds of regulation.

Skillings is looking more and more like the go-to sixth man for Cincinnati as he keeps developing in the sport. The sophomore carried a lot of the offense on his back Tuesday night.

Seth Towns, Still Here

Towns is in his eighth college basketball season due to injuries and COVID-19. He looked like the most veteran player on the court Tuesday night.

The forward is scorching from three this season and he utilized that efficiency to create good looks all over the floor against Cincinnati. Towns entered the game shooting 48% from deep and canned three triples on Tuesday.

He kept the Bison on schedule offensively against UC's top-30 defense entering Tuesday night. The team shot 50% from the floor  on 60 shots with ball movement that often got sparked by Towns. Howard did a great job making the extra pass inside. 

The veteran had a pair of assists on the night.

He also hit the clutch shot created out of nothing to bring the game within one in the final minute and the buzzer-beater to clinch OT. It was a veteran showing from the eighth-year player.

Point Guard Problem

Cincinnati's lead guard combo of Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James has played well to start the season but that came to a grinding halt on Tuesday night during their first road games with UC.

They combined for 15 points and four assists on 6-for-17 from the field.

James answered the call late in the second half, but the inconsistencies were enough to help Howard keep the margin razor thin. He played a fantastic final 10 minutes to help retake the lead and secure a win, but it was too close for comfort in a game Cincinnati was favored to win by 12.

The freshman essentially flipped the game in that portion with great on-ball defense and strong takes to the rim.

Cincinnati only created 13 assists on Tuesday across 45 minutes played. It marked the second lowest single-game total this season and a clear sign of UC's offense getting a little junked up after entering ranked 31st nationally in points per game (85.2). 

The Bearcats scored 12 points in overtime to roll back home for another stretch of games at Fifth Third Arena.

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