Bearcats Cruise Past Bradley to Advance to NIT Quarterfinals - University of Cincinnati Athletics (2024)

StevenDistel

• Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | March 23, 2024

James posts career-high 25 points in first career start

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati men's basketball team rolled to a 74-57 victory over Bradley on Saturday in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament at Fifth Third Arena.

The Bearcatswill play either Minnesota at home or Indiana State on the road midweek in the quarterfinals, depending on the result of their contest.

Making his first career start, freshman guard ji*zzle James led all scorers, posting a career-high 25 points that marked the most by a Cincinnati freshman since Jarron Cumberland in 2017 versus South Florida. He scored 14 and went 6-of-7 from the floor in the first half alone. James added 11 points down the stretch of the second and shot 11-of-15 from the floor for the game.

John Newman III surpassed the 1,000-point milestone for his career with a free-throw late in the first half. A louder-than-normal cheer for the shot coincided with his point to the sky and crowd, in addition to congratulations from his teammates already in the game.

Dan Skillings Jr. erupted in the second half, scoring 17 of his 20 points which kept the Braves at bay.

Simas Lukosius scored 17 points on the heels of his heroic 28-point performance and game-winning trey on Wednesday night.

After trading buckets to begin the second, James hit a step-back jumper that was followed by a Skillings steal and slam dunk that closed out a 7-0 run and put the Bearcats up 50-35.

The Skillings' second-half scoring onslaught continued with a smooth left-handed lay-up as he extended the lead to 19. Eight-straight points from James and back-to-back buckets from Skillings late in the second essentially iced the game for the Bearcats, who led 71-53 with two minutes to go.

Cincinnati opened the game on a 12-2 run thanks to three consecutive 3-pointers as Lukosius picked up right where he left off last game, knocking down two himself. The team made four of its first five 3-point attempts and jumped out to a 21-8 lead after seven straight points by James that capped off a 9-0 run.

The Bearcats held the Braves to just 1-of-12 from the field during the stretch.

Cincinnati headed to the break up 36-28 as both James (14) and Lukosius (12) reached double figures, shooting a combined 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first.

FROM WES MILLER
"It's great to be playing for something in late March. That's the standard we're trying to set here. Everybody knows we'd rather be playing in the NCAA Tournament. We are playing for a championship. Our guys played with that kind of effort today. I thought there was a stretch early in the second half where we were a little lackadaisicaldefensively. We made some shots, but we challenged the guys in a timeout, and we played hard as heck there to make a run. I'm really happy John got his 1,000th point. The reception from the fans was awesome and is something he will remember forever. I was really happy for ji*zzle to have his career-high. It doesn't surprise me the way he takes the opportunities given to him. In my opinion, he had his career-high for how he played defensively. It's been cool seeing the growth he's had."

FROM JOHN NEWMAN III
"It was a special moment for me. I have had a long career and I know it is not often that people reach 1,000 points, and I am blessed to reach that milestone. I want to thank everyone that has been a part of this, and it has been a long journey. I have had a lot of different guys and coaches I have played with, but I was always surrounded by people that believed in me. I am thankful for them because they play a part in this too."

FROM ji*zzLE JAMES
"It was just doing my job. I knew I had to play more. I wanted to get my guys in position to be at their best in creating for each other. I came in with a leader mindset in getting people going, and I knew it would open up for myself too."