Recap: Cincinnati 89 Lipscomb 62
Cincinnati wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule in convincing fashion, rolling past Lipscomb 89–62 to finish 8–5 before turning the page to league play. What began as a brief feeling-out period quickly turned into a wire-to-wire performance that showcased balance, effort, and physicality on both ends by Wes Miller’s squad.
The Bearcats weathered an early 7–1 deficit in the opening three minutes, then flipped the game with energy and shot-making. After tying the score at 7–7, Cincinnati seized momentum behind a barrage from the perimeter. Kriisa knocked down three triples in a four-minute span, while Celestine added back-to-back threes to spark a decisive run that pushed the lead to double digits midway through the first half.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
From there, Cincinnati dictated the tempo. The Bearcats closed the half on a 20–6 surge, fueled by transition buckets and interior touches, to take a commanding 44–24 advantage into the break. They shot efficiently, rebounded with authority, and forced Lipscomb into tough looks while limiting second chances—areas Miller emphasized afterward.
“Well, as I told the guys in the locker room, statistically, I think there’s one statistic that you can be selfish about and it’s still good for the team, and that’s rebounding,” Miller said. “And so, 21 rebounds from Baba Miller—that really impresses me. What I’d like is for other guys to compete with him a little bit. I said at halftime, he had 13 of them, and I told the guys, ‘Hell guys, 13’s pretty damn good, but you guys can go compete with him a little bit. We’d like some other guys to rebound too.’ But 21 rebounds, that impressed me. I care a lot about rebounding, and he gets 21 of them. I don’t care who you’re playing in Division I basketball. That’s impressive.”
Any thought of a comeback was erased immediately after halftime. Cincinnati opened the second half with an 8–0 run in the first 51 seconds, capped by Sencire Harris scoring twice in transition and Miller finishing a fast-break jumper. That spurt ballooned the margin past 25 and set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Moustapha Thiam anchored the second half, scoring repeatedly in the paint and finishing with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The emphasis on playing inside-out has been a season-long priority.
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
“That’s been a point of emphasis all year—summer, fall. We’ve been trying to get the ball inside,” Miller said. “He’s starting to find confidence. He’s taking care of the ball better when he gets it down there, and our guys have done a nice job of trying to find him.”
Jizzle James, making his first start of the season, added 16 points with a mix of drives and timely threes, and his impact went beyond the box score.
“I think Jizzle just allows you to do some different things lineup-wise,” Miller said. “Different combinations, because he’s got size and physicality, so he can defend multiple positions. Some combinations that we tried early that maybe weren’t working work a little better when he’s on the floor because he just gives you more. It’s like Baba—Baba makes every lineup work a little better because of his versatility. Jizzle has some of that effect as well.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
Kriisa, who was replaced by James in the starting lineup, chipped in 15 points by hitting 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and embraced the simplicity of his role.
“It just happened to go in today, and it looks a little bit better when it goes in,” he said. On his shot selection, Kriisa added bluntly, “Three gives more than two. So I’m shooting threes.”
Baba Miller delivered a monster all-around performance with 11 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists, controlling the glass and initiating offense throughout. He finished just three assists shy of a triple-double, but individual milestones were never the focus.
“If he was one assist away, absolutely you’d do that for a young person,” Wes Miller said when asked about leaving Miller in longer to accomplish the feat. “But three assists is hard to manufacture. I’m way more concerned about getting better throughout that game. I told the guys, ‘This is not junk time. This is practice time.’ We’ve got to build principles and habits.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
Baba himself was largely unaware of how close he was to history.
“No, I didn’t really know how close I was to a triple-double,” he said. “I knew I had seven assists at halftime because someone told me. Twenty-one rebounds is my career high. I think my previous high was 17.”
The performance was the clearest example yet of the role the staff has been pushing him toward.
“Baba was the most difficult player to figure out in the summer,” Miller said. “After watching him with the national team, it became very clear that he can do a lot of things. But if he’ll run the floor every time, attack the offensive and defensive glass every time, defend with great force and energy, and attack the rim whether he has the ball or not, he’s going to have a great year. That’s been the emphasis. He’s really trying to do what we ask, and I’m very proud of his development.”
Cincinnati’s advantages showed up in virtually every “winning” category. The Bearcats outrebounded Lipscomb 45–31, dominated points in the paint 46–20, and assisted on 21 made baskets.
“I’ll go watch the tape. Twenty-one assists—I think that’s good,” Miller said. “We’ve had high assist numbers. I thought we were stagnant at times offensively in the first half on some possessions. I thought we moved it better in the second half. I still think we have to have better body movement. Sometimes we can just stall… I think there were some possessions that are really good, and then I think there’s some that need improvement.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
That balance was felt throughout the roster. “It gives us a lot of confidence,” Baba Miller said. “We played really connected from the jump. We made a lot of unselfish plays. We had nine guys take more than five shots today. That’s a good sign. Most of the shots were wide open or damn near wide open.”
Defensively, Wes Miller liked the intent but acknowledged plenty to clean up. “I thought our ball pressure was impactful from the tip,” he said. “That’s a really good basketball team… We did some nice things defensively, but we blew a lot of pick-and-roll coverages, didn’t make every rotation, and had some transition lapses. There’s a lot I didn’t like, but there were some good parts too.”
The game also reflected Miller’s willingness to reward competitiveness when evaluating lineups after poor efforts against Georgia and Clemson.
“They asked me on the radio what went into the change of the starting lineup,” he said. “Sometimes things are complicated, and sometimes they’re simple, and this one was simple. We had a 28-point deficit late in the first half. That group erased it for the next 24 minutes… We’re going to reward that kind of edge, that kind of competitive spirit.”
(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub )
Kerr embraced his role without hesitation. “I was extremely impressed with Kerr tonight,” Miller said. “I thought it was the best game he’s played since he’s been here. I called him and told him he wasn’t going to start, and it was the easiest phone call of all time… He’s a pro. He’s a winner.”
From Kerr’s perspective, it’s all noise. “This starting lineup stuff is an American thing,” he said. “In Europe, you can have 25 different starting lineups. My minutes are around the same. I always play to win. I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Looking ahead, Cincinnati continues to wait on the return of Tyler McKinley as they prepare for the grind of Big 12 play.
“I hope Tyler can come back,” Miller said. “Talk about rebounding and physicality—I think he’s as good of a player as we’ve had in those areas. We need him, but I can’t say if he’ll be able to play next game or not.”
Lipscomb was led by Ross Candelino’s 20 points, but the Bearcats never allowed sustained momentum. Cincinnati led for more than 32 minutes, pushed the margin as high as 29 late, and comfortably closed things out.
With rebounding, effort, and unselfishness setting the tone, Cincinnati heads into conference play with confidence, momentum, and a clear identity after a convincing finish to its non-conference slate. Now the question becomes, can they sustain the consistency against higher level competition?
Postgame Video: Wes Miller, Baba Miller, Kerr Kriisa
Game Highlights: