No. 25 Texas men’s basketball defeated Cincinnati with a nail-biting finish 74-73, giving the Longhorns their first Big 12 win.
Graduate guard Max Abmas secured the win for Texas with a sideline jumper with only eight seconds left giving the Bearcats less than seven seconds to throw up a shot that did not manage to fall.
The first Big 12 home game for Cincinnati accumulated a big home crowd that seemed to keep the Bearcats momentum high. In the first half, Cincinnati came out with an 11-0 run, which Texas was able to eventually take back with a 7-0 run.
While it was a close game, Cincinnati had many easy opportunities at the block. Redshirt junior forward Viktor Lahkin had 10 points of the team’s 15 in the first of seven minutes of the matchup. He finished with 17 points while junior guard and forward Simas Lukošius accumulated 19 points for Cincinnati.
Despite the intensity and high scoring ability of the Bearcats, Texas held a two-point lead going into halftime. In the second half, there was much more back and forth scoring and lead changes with neither team establishing a lead over four points.
Graduate forward Dylan Disu was the prominent factor in Texas’ success. In his first start of the season in replacement of graduate forward Kadin Shedrick, who was announced out for today’s game due to back spasms, finished out the game with a career high of 33 points accumulating 19 in the first half alone. He shot an admirable 56% from the field goal range and 40% from the 3-point line. He also retrieved six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
Both teams had very similar and impressive shooting that kept it such a tight scoring game. Texas held a 50.9% field goal percentage and 35% at the 3-point line, with the Bearcats at 47.5% and 41.2%, respectively.
The high pressure defense and physicality of Cincinnati were two main components that kept Texas from building any type of lead. The Bearcats had an impressive win against No. 12 BYU last week holding the Bobcats to 60 points, the lowest score they’ve had all season.
Besides Abmas’ impressive final shot, he once again proved himself as a prominent player with 15 points, two rebounds, five assists and his ability to hold back the Bearcat defense in offensive transition.
Junior guard Tyrese Hunter and sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell both finished the matchup with 10 points. Junior forward Ze’Rik Onyema came in for his first time in the past three games showing an impressive defensive game with five rebounds, one block and one steal in his 15 minutes of playing time. He finished with four points from two putbacks that bounced off the glass from other teammate’s missed attempts.
Texas is next set to take on West Virginia in Morgantown on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT.
