by Tim Daniel
Tonight, the Mikey Saunders Jr show was in full effect at Fifth Third Arena.
With a night like tonight where senior leader David DeJulius couldn't consistently find his shot, the Bearcats' other ball-handlers held their own and kept the Cincinnati offense going strong in their 76-67 victory over Tennessee Tech.
This wasn't the night offensively Cincinnati will use as a reference to show how to play efficiently, but damn they played tough. The team managed to pick up 13 offensive rebounds, which lead to 16 second-chance points and ended being a major factor in picking up the victory.
Mikey Saunders was 6/10 from the floor, and also managed to draw five fouls on his way to scoring 15 points. Mika Adams-Woods also threw in eleven points with 4/9 shooting and was 3/6 from three-point land. Mika continues to handle the ball efficiently with another four assists, zero turnover performance.
Though Tennessee Tech was outmatched, they still managed to stay in the game and put up a hell of a fight. Former Bearcat Mamoudou Diarra put on a show in front of his former home crowd with 15 points and was 3/7 shooting from deep. The Eagles shot 41% from three as a team, and even cut the deficit to four points with 9:23 remaining after a Kenny White Jr. layin. White scored ten points tonight on 4/6 shooting from the floor to keep his team in the game.
Former Xavier Musketeer Daniel Ramsey also made his return to Cincinnati scoring 8 points while picking up four rebounds and one assist. Ramsey made a few tough baskets, and honestly, it was just great to see him out there healthy and playing.
Now the Bearcats sit at 10-3 and have come to the end of non-conference play. Up next for Cincinnati, the first game of conference play on the road at the Houston Cougars. The Cougars are the defending AAC tournament champions, and also played in the 2021 Final Four. Tip-off will be at 8 PM Est and will be broadcast on ESPN+
