Day Day Thomas scored 19 points while Jalen Celestine had four 3-pointers and 12 points off the bench to help host Cincinnati shock No. 2 Iowa State 79-70 in a Big 12 game on Saturday afternoon.
Baba Miller grabbed 12 rebounds while adding eight points, and Jizzle James scored 15 points as Cincinnati (10-8, 2-3 Big 12) secured its best win of the season and its second consecutive victory in conference play.
Milan Momcilovic connected on 8 of 14 shots from 3-point range to lead the Cyclones (16-2, 3-2) with a career-best 34 points. Joshua Jefferson was the only other Iowa State player in double figures with 16 points. He also added nine rebounds and five assists. Cincinnati’s bench outscored the visitors 20-5.
It was the second straight loss for the Cyclones, who fell in a Big 12 game Tuesday at Kansas, 84-63.
Cincinnati, which had a chance at a Top 10 win at home two weeks ago against then-No. 8 Houston, losing 67-60, got a signature win for coach Wes Miller, who was booed loudly before the last two home games, including Saturday’s contest against the Cyclones.
Cincinnati’s Sencire Harris had a steal and was going in for a dunk and a 71-56 lead with six minutes left, but Harris missed the dunk and Iowa State answered with the next eight points, cutting its deficit to 69-64.
The missed dunk was part of a 14-2 run that helped the Cyclones reduce a 17-point deficit to five before Thomas hit a jumper at the free-throw line with 3:22 left. James then scored on the next possession, and Cincinnati led 73-64 with 2:41 to go.
In the first half, three consecutive 3-pointers from Celestine and another from Thomas sparked an early 14-0 run and gave Cincinnati a 19-8 lead.
Cincinnati’s sharpshooting in the first 10 minutes from deep allowed the Bearcats to maintain control. They drained five of their first eight attempts from long distance to build leads of 21-10 and 25-14.
But after missing their next six 3-pointers and nine of their next 10, the Bearcats maintained a solid lead thanks to their trademark tenacious defense. Cincinnati had a commanding 14-0 lead in points off turnovers for the first 17 minutes of the game. The Bearcats were also aided by poor free-throw shooting from the Cyclones, as the visitors missed five of their first 10 attempts from the line.
Cincinnati missed its last six shots over the final three minutes of the first half as Iowa State closed on a 7-0 run to draw within 35-31 at the half.
Iowa State opened the second half by outscoring Cincinnati 7-3 to finally tie the game, 38-38.
But after Joshua Jefferson’s jumper with 16:19 left in the second half, Cincinnati held Iowa State without a field goal for over six minutes, going on an 11-0 run to build its biggest lead, 56-42, on a James jumper with 13:05 remaining.
–Field Level Media
