After coming up with a big road win against No. 18 UNLV last night, the Ducks were handed their first loss of the season tonight as they fell to No. 22 Cincinatti 77-66. With four different players scoring in double-digits for the Bearcats, the Ducks simply did not do enough on the defensive end to keep the game close. Boasting an impressive 45.8 percent from beyond the arc on 11-24 shooting, there was only so much the Ducks could do as they trailed for most of the game.
The game started off rough for the Ducks as they found themselves in a hole, early in the half. After trailing 9-6 early in the half, the Bearcats went on a 16-8 run which gave them a commanding 25-14 lead over the Ducks, who continued to have their struggles on the offensive end for the remainder of the half. After a late-half surge sparked by a Damyean Dotson three with 45 seconds left in the half, the Ducks found themselves with a generous 42-33 deficit.
The Ducks came out in the second half looking like an entirely different team as they closed the gap early and began to make it a game. With 13:01 left in the second half, the Ducks found themselves only down one at 47-46 after shutting down the Bearcats early in the half. The Ducks continued to keep it close, even tying the game up at 54-54 with 6:26 left in the game, but after a 9-0 run by the Bearcats, the Ducks once again found themselves in a deep hole. For the rest of the game, the Bearcats dominated both ends of the floor and continued to add onto their lead as they went on to win the game.
In an otherwise poor offensive night for the Ducks who shot a dismal 34.5 percent from the field, Carlos Emory still managed to produce a solid performance scoring a team high 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The Ducks will continue to look to him for scoring and leadership as the season moves along.
For the Bearcats, it was three key players who led them to a win tonight: Cashmere Wright who had a game high 17 points, Sean Kilpatrick with 16 points, and JaQuon Parker with 16 points as well. These three players were unstoppable tonight from three-point land as they shot a combined 10-21 from beyond the arc, also helping the Bearcats keep their perfect record alive at 6-0.
On the horizon: The Ducks will host Texas-San Antonio next Thursday on Nov. 29 as they try and rebound from tonight’s loss.