Recap: Cincinnati 76 Tarleton State 58
Cincinnati turned a close game into a commanding victory Monday night, using a blistering second-half shooting display and a plus-15 rebounding margin to defeat Tarleton State 76–58 at Fifth Third Arena.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
"We’ve been really trying to work on some things offensively the last couple days, and I could see some of those things taking shape," Miller said following the win. "I thought we did a good job with our movement. You could see the movement early. I thought we got the ball to the inside with the dribble and with the pass early, and I thought we generated really good shots early in the first half. We didn’t sustain it, but you could see some of the stuff that we were doing in the last couple days of practice taking shape offensively.”
The Bearcats (6-2) knocked down 15 three-pointers—nine after halftime—and opened the second half on a 16–4 run that pushed a 31–29 halftime edge into a comfortable double-digit lead. Cincinnati shot 52 percent after the break, also out-rebounding TSU 22-9 over the final 20 minutes.
:I liked that we won the rebounding war. This is a physical, hard-playing team. They played a heck of a game against Baylor, and they were up big at Rice last week," Miller explained. "To win the rebounding war was positive. Those were the things I liked. There’s a lot we’ve got to clean up, and we know that. But we will.”
Game Recap
Tarleton State opened aggressively, with Kaia Isaac knocking down the game’s first three just 23 seconds in. Cincinnati answered immediately through Kerr Kriisa, who buried a three of his own, and the teams traded early punches, reaching a 7–7 tie at the first media stop.
From there, the Bearcats created the first meaningful separation. Back-to-back threes from Sencire Harris and Jalen Celestine sparked an 11–0 Cincinnati run, pushing the lead to 20–10. Day Day Thomas buried a three at the 8:13 mark to stretch the margin to 24–12.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Tarleton responded with a flurry—Ocpher Owens hit a three, then scored twice at the rim, and Kade Douglas drilled a deep ball to help the Texans pull within two, 31-29, at halftime.
Cincinnati opened the second half with the knockout stretch of the game. Day Day Thomas drilled a three on the first possession, Shon Abaev scored in transition, and Kriisa followed with another three to kickstart a 16–4 run that made it 47-33.
Tarleton answered with a 10-0 run to close the gap to 47–43 behind threes from Freddy Hicks and a fast-break jumper by Isaac, but Kriisa halted the momentum with another three at 12:47. From there, the Bearcats regained full control.
Thomas caught fire, hitting back-to-back threes and scoring eight straight points as the lead ballooned to 62–47. Miller punctuated the stretch with a two-hand dunk, and Celestine’s corner three pushed the margin to 67–51.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Kriisa buried his sixth three of the night to extend the lead to 70–53 with 5:29 remaining, and UC cruised from there. Thomas added late free throws to seal the 18-point victory.
Kriisa, Thomas Lead Backcourt Charge
Senior guard Kerr Kriisa scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including six three-pointers. After several games of close misses, Kriisa acknowledged the breakout felt overdue.
“All my misses this season have been basically in-and-outs,” Kriisa said. “It was frustrating, but I stuck with it. My teammates looked for me, we ran a lot of sets for me, and finally some went in.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Day Day Thomas added 19 points, six assists and five rebounds, hitting five threes of his own and steadying Cincinnati’s offense during the decisive run.
Shon Abaev contributed 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, also pulling down seven rebounds.
Baba Miller Returns, Delivers Double-Double
Forward Baba Miller returned to the lineup after missing the final ten minutes against Louisville, as well as the following games against NJIT and Eastern Michigan. Miller picked up where he left off, posting 13 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. He committed seven turnovers in the first half but settled in as the game progressed.
“I felt better than I expected. I was a bit rushed in the first half. The turnovers were bad," Miller said. "I should have made better decisions, maybe slowed down....I came out too rushed, too excited to play the game, not sharp enough. At halftime I had to ground myself and slow down.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
Miller admitted the layoff was difficult.
"I don’t think I’ve sat out a game since my freshman year with all the suspension stuff," he said. "It’s not fun, but at the end of the day I’m still part of the team, and I can help by being vocal and bringing energy. It was really fun to be back out there with the guys.”
Wes Miller Praises Fight, Criticizes Turnovers
Head coach Wes Miller noted improvements in ball movement but expressed displeasure with the team’s 21 turnovers.
“I thought the turnovers were careless. Baba had seven of them in the first half, and he hadn’t played basketball for eight days or whatever the heck it’s been. But the turnovers, not just his, were careless," Miller said. :Three times we’re jumping out of bounds or falling out of bounds, throwing the ball to the other team. We made nice defensive plays and then gave it right back. That was frustrating. We’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up.”
Miller also commended Baba Miller for returning earlier than expected from injury.
“He’s not 100 percent,” the coach said. “Everyone told him to sit out another week, but he wanted to play. That’s what Cincinnati basketball is about. I’ll take the guy that wants to fight through it when they’re not 100 percent all day every day.”
Tarleton Fades After Competitive Start
Tarleton State stayed within reach for most of the first half and trailed only 31–29 at the break. Ocpher Owens led the Texans with 16 points, while Kaia Isaac added 13. But 19 turnovers and foul trouble stalled their offense, and the Bearcats’ perimeter burst quickly widened the margin.
Moustapha Thiam
Despite having a size advantage in the post, Thiam was held scoreless on one shot attempt and had just three points while battling foul trouble.
“In the second half, I thought we did a better job of getting the ball inside in the post. And I don’t like Moo’s line in a game like that where he has such a size advantage," Miller said. "We have to take advantage of that more. He had a couple silly fouls and some things not go his way, but I did think we got it inside there.”
Lessons After EMU Loss
The win was important for multiple reasons, but most importantly, it was a positive response to last week's 64-56 home loss to Eastern Michigan. Kriisa said the team responded appropriately after last week’s loss."
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)
“We definitely laid an egg," he said. "We showed ourselves that if we’re not connected and if we go half-ass the game, we’re not that good. What makes us special is how hard we play, how focused we are, how detailed we are, how together we are. Down the line we can look at that game and laugh about it because that game really helped us moving forward.”
Players acknowledged the halftime message was simple.
“I think everyone understood what we had to do," Baba Miller said. "We were doing good the first 10 minutes, but then we had a dip where we didn’t play as hard as we normally do and had a lot of casual mistakes. At halftime there were some words said, but everybody understood the level of intensity had to rise.”
Looking Ahead
With the Crosstown Shootout approaching, Wes Miller said the significance of the rivalry is clear.
“We’ve got a bunch of new faces, but you’ve got guys like Day Day Thomas and Tyler McKinley that grew up here. Those guys will speak up," Miller said. "The coach-talk is that it’s just another game, but it’s not one other game. I say that because of what it means to this community. I’ve been here long enough to understand how much the Cincinnati–Xavier game means to the community. There’s a history and tradition to that. When you’re here, you feel it. The guys will feel that this week, and we’ll explain that to them.”
Cincinnati will now get three days of prep and rest before returning to the court Friday night against Xavier at Cintas Center.
Game Highlights
Postgame Video: Miller, Kriisa, Miller