National Basketball Association
Cincinnati 69, Illinois-Chicago 58
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, November 6, 2023
Where: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Officials:
# Rick Crawford, # Stephen Divine, # Chris Hudson
Attendance:
9936
By Field Level Media
Day Day Thomas scored 15 points and Dan Skillings Jr. added 13 to lead the Cincinnati Bearcats past the visiting UIC Flames, 69-58, Monday night in the season opener.
CJ Fredrick's 3 with 8:56 left in the first half gave Cincinnati a lead -- 20-18 -- the Bearcats would not relinquish. Fredrick finished with 11 points and was the only other Cincinnati player in double figures in scoring.
UIC senior guard Toby Okani posted a double-double and scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, helping to keep the Flames close. Okani grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked six shots.
Leading 43-38 with 15:41 remaining on an Okani putback layup, the Bearcats rattled off the next nine points to take a 52-38 lead.
Thomas had a pair of baskets during the stretch. Simas Lukosius drilled a three-pointer with 9:38 remaining to spark a 13-5 Cincinnati run capped by a Jizzle James layup that give the Bearcats their biggest lead, 63-47, with six minutes remaining.
CJ Jones and Ethan Pickett had 13 points apiece for UIC.
In a seesaw game with no true perimeter threats, the lead changed several times in the first half before the Bearcats closed on a 14-4 run for a 40-30 lead.
Cincinnati, playing their first season in the Big 12, outscored UIC 20-2 in points off turnovers.
UIC converted just 2 of 16 from 3-point range while the Bearcats made 5 of 25.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Illinois-Chicago |
|
Cincinnati |
|
Toby Okani 20 |
Scoring |
Day Day Thomas 15 |
|
Toby Okani 3 |
Assists |
Day Day Thomas 3 |
|
Toby Okani 11 |
Rebounds |
Viktor Lakhin 8 |
|
CJ Jones 1 |
Free Throws Made |
Viktor Lakhin 3 |
|
Steven Clay 1 |
Steals |
Day Day Thomas 3 |
|
Toby Okani 6 |
Blocks |
CJ Fredrick 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Illinois-Chicago
|
58 |
43.3 |
2-16 |
4-7 |
7 |
31 |
7 |
4 |
15 |
| Cincinnati
|
69 |
41.8 |
5-25 |
8-13 |
12 |
38 |
2 |
11 |
9 |
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