Recap: Louisville 74 Cincinnati 64

Cincinnati suffered their first defeat of the season Friday night, falling to Louisville 74-64 at Heritage Bank Center in the Care Source Hoops Classic. Despite trailing by 11 points early and 32-28 at the half, the Cardinals were able to pull away midway through the second half, fueled by Ryan Conwell’s game-high 25 points and Mikel Brown Jr.’s 22 points.

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

“That's the sixth-ranked team in the country and a team that a lot of people are picking to win the national championship," UC head coach Wes Miller said following the game.  "If there's anything I take from tonight, it’s that this could be a great team. We’ve been saying that, and I know people think it's coach-speak, but it's not. This could be a great basketball team.”

 

Despite the encouraging start by the Bearcats, who led 17-6 at the 10:45 mark of the first half, a lack of consistency throughout the second half would prevent Miller's team from pulling off the upset and notching an early season signature victory.

 

“They beat us to some loose balls to start the second half. They beat us on the backboards in the second half. Our offense got stagnant. … Those things are controllable, and things we can get back to work on.”

 

Cincinnati consistently struggled to knock down shots, finishing 23-of-62 from the field (37%), 8-of-29 from three (28%), and 10-of-16 from the free throw line (63%).

 

Day Day Thomas and Shon Abaev both led Cincinnati with 12 points, each, but the duo was a combined 7-of-30 from the field and just 5-of-17 from deep. 

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

Miller chose to take a positive approach to his team's shooting woes, focusing on the potential of his group instead of the one game sample.

 

"We’re going to shoot the ball better. We’re a good offensive team. We’re going to be better from the free-throw line. We left a lot out there on the free-throw line — I think two front ends of one-and-ones late in the first half," Miller explained.

 

"This group is still learning. They’re young — not all of them — but there’s some young ones, and some new ones that aren’t young. They’re still learning. They want to win badly, they want to play the right way, but they’re still learning what that’s going to take to close out games like this. There’s a different level of focus to how you execute. There’s a different level of focus to what you do every day. And I have faith that they’ll get that right."

 

Bearcats Strike First, Cards Counter

Cincinnati delivered the first big punch, storming ahead 17–6 behind strong interior play from Moustapha Thiam and an offense that consistently attacked the rim for easy baskets. The Bearcats controlled effort plays early and looked sharper in their defensive rotations.

 

"The first half like they were the aggressor. They were the more physical team. It was the battle of two teams that really thrive in transition and I thought they got the better of us in the first half," Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey explained. "We talked so much about transition, rebounding, physicality, and toughness. Those four things we harped on a lot. I thought we were 0 for four on those in the first half, but our guys responded."

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

Louisville steadied with a 13–0 run, cutting off Cincinnati’s rhythm and preventing the game from slipping away. By halftime, the Bearcats led the rebounding battle (24-18) and had executed their defensive plan on Louisville’s guards.

 

"Cincinnati is extremely physical team. You know, we like to play in rhythm. We're a very talented offensive team and they really disrupted us," Kelsey said.

 

"They just weren't letting us go where we wanted to go. They were blowing up every screen. They were just muddying up the game and then I thought they were the aggressor on the offensive glass. But, you know, we ended up winning the rebounding battle. I liked how our guys responded."

 

Conwell Explodes, Cards Take Control

After scoring just 7 first-half points, Ryan Conwell punished every Cincinnati mistake in the second half. His 5 made threes often came at moments when Louisville needed an answer.

 

Miller emphasized how quickly the game flipped once Conwell heated up:

 

“We did a great job on Conwell in the first half… but in the second half, we had a lot of breakdowns. And he’s a guy that when you make a mistake… he makes you pay.”

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

Cincinnati’s defensive execution simply slipped. Missed screen navigations, late contests, and communication issues freed Conwell repeatedly on the baseline and wing.

 

"In the first half we got off to a slower start… they were just the more physical team. Going into halftime, we made an emphasis on just being us — which is a physical, fast-playing team who do the little things," Conwell said during the postgame media availability.

 

"And coming out as one of the leaders, I knew I had to be part of setting that tone and bringing that energy, and that’s just what I tried to do and just lean on the energy from my teammates as well.”

 

It wasn't just Conwell that made the Bearcats pay.

 

Freshman standout and future lottery pick Mikel Brown was limited to a 4-of-15 showing from the field, but was able to draw fouls and repeatedly put pressure on Cincinnati’s backcourt, knocking down 12-of-14 attempts from the free throw line.

 

"We wanted to look down and see 4-for-15. And so from that standpoint, we did a nice job on Brown," Miller said. "Now, getting to the free-throw line was a problem, and I didn’t like how we got back in front of him. He does a nice job of putting his body on you."

 

 The Cards finished the game 24-of-28 on free throws.

Second-Half Physicality Swings to Louisville

While Cincinnati was the aggressor and more physical team during the first half, Louisville flipped the rebounding script, winning the second-half rebounding battle 23–14 after trailing at halftime. 

 

"They’re great length, positional size, rugged, physical, tough. I guess I didn’t prepare my guys enough for that because they were negating everything we were trying to do. We couldn't screen… couldn't get loose. They were more physical on the backboard as well," Kelsey said. "I love to study basketball… there’s some things that we can do as well and learn from that. But I thought in the second half we really guarded… I like to think we were the hardest-playing team in the second half.”

 

 

Miller didn't shy away from questions about his team's lack of consistency on the defensive end and on the glass throughout the second half.

 

“We were winning the board by six at halftime… you’re winning the effort plays, the loose-ball plays… We gotta be able to sustain that kind of effort. We didn’t sustain that in the second half.”

 

The Cardinals’ 41–38 overall rebounding edge and 17–7 points-off-turnovers advantage shaped the final margin as Cincinnati’s offense stalled during key stretches of the final 20 minutes. 

 

The Positives: Thiam Shines in Defeat

While it's easy to point out negatives in a loss, Cincinnati’s Moustapha Thiam delivered one of his best two-way performances: 10 points, 9 rebounds, and three blocks, including a momentum-swinging block to end the first half. He credited the team defensive effort for setting him up.

 

“We have a really good defensive team… the guards did a very good job winging up their man so I can come behind and just block it.”

 

His developing mid-range game also stood out.

 

“Just my teammates trusting me and giving it to me in the post… whether it’s defense or offense, it doesn’t really matter to me. What I’m looking for is just help," Thiam explained.

 

Still, Thiam acknowledged Cincinnati’s second-half defensive slippage.

 

“Sometimes every one of us just relax… we’ll get back in the gym tomorrow and get better.”

 

The 19-year-old center emphasized he’s still growing.

 

“I’m still learning myself… I’m just trying to be the best I can be.”

Louisville’s Closing Execution

Louisville’s maturity and guard play carried the final minutes. Conwell scored or assisted on key possessions, Brown Jr. controlled tempo, and the Cardinals’ free-throw precision (85.7%) contrasted sharply with Cincinnati’s missed opportunities (62.5%).

 

The Cards’ defense stiffened late, shutting down driving lanes and denying post touches that Cincinnati had capitalized on early.

 

"People talk about all the threes we shoot; all we talk about is force on the paint. Attacking the rim, putting free-throw pressure on people. We did that at a high level," said Kelsey.

 

"We shot 28 free throws… but we want to limit our opponent's paint touches because you touch paint, that's efficient. They were doing it on offensive rebounds, in transition, driving the ball. I thought we did a better job making them shoot jump shots in the second half.”

 

Baba Miller Update

One of the key moments during Louisville's second half run came when Baba Miller went out at the 10:28 mark with an injury that would prevent him from returning to the game.

 

"He got hit in the hip, tried to give it a go, and wasn’t able to. We’ll reevaluate when we know more," Miller stated when asked about the injury.

 

To that point, Baba had produced 9 points, 8 rebounds, and three assists, to go along with a block and steal.

 

Kelsey acknowledged during his post-game comments that losing Miller had an effect on the Bearcats at both ends of the floor.

 

"He's arguably their best player. He's really good. That changed things when he went out of the game. Let's call it what it is — that's a difficult loss for them. I hope he's okay… it's unfortunate for him, but I hope he's okay. He's a really good player.”

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

Final Thoughts:

Louisville’s 74–64 win will feel, for Cincinnati, like a game that pivoted in slow motion — not on one play, but on a string of small lapses the Cards punished every time.

 

UC actually opened the half the way it needed to. 

 

Baba Miller scored the Bearcats’ first five points, pushing the lead to 35–30 and briefly settling things after Louisville cut it to one. But the turning point arrived almost immediately: Ryan Conwell drilled a three at 18:10, tying the game at 35–35 and flipping the momentum Louisville had been hunting since halftime.

 

From there, Cincinnati never truly regained control.

 

Louisville’s pressure — both on the ball and on the glass — began stacking possessions in its favor. After Miller’s dunk at 17:15 restored a 37–35 UC lead, the Cards ripped off a 5–0 burst, including free throws from Wooley and a Conwell layup, to take their first multi-possession edge at 40–37. It was the start of a trend: every time UC answered, Louisville counterpunched harder.

 

Kerr Kriisa briefly steadied the Bearcats with a three to pull within 44–43, but Conwell immediately buried another triple at 11:16. From that shot forward, the game unmistakably tilted in Louisville’s direction.

 

The decisive stretch came between the 10- and 8-minute marks. Cincinnati got two free throws from Miller, but Louisville stacked together seven straight points — Wooley at the rim, a Rooths layup, and two Fru free throws — extending the lead to 54–45. UC never got within two possessions again.

 

Kriisa and Celestine hit threes to keep Cincinnati afloat, and Sincere Harris provided a burst with a dunk and later a transition layup, but Louisville always had an answer.

 

(Photo: Taylor Keeton / Bearcatsportshub)

 

Mikel Brown delivered the knockout blow sequence: a three at 3:53, a fast-break dunk at 3:36, and four free throws in the final two minutes to keep UC at arm’s length.

 

Conwell closed the door with two free throws inside the final 30 seconds, capping off a second half where he repeatedly punished every Cincinnati defensive mistake — exactly as Wes Miller warned he could.

 

For the Bearcats, this half will serve as a clear blueprint of what must improve. After winning the physical battles early, UC was out-rebounded and out-scrapped when the intensity rose. The offense bogged down, the ball stopped moving, and too many possessions hinged on contested shots late in the clock. Meanwhile, Louisville thrived on UC’s missed assignments and lived at the line.

 

Still, there were stretches — especially early in the half and game— that showed Cincinnati can compete with a top-10 team. The question is how quickly this young, retooled group can learn to sustain that level across forty minutes. Tonight, they didn’t. But the path forward is fixable, and the ceiling remains high.

 

Game Highlights

 

 

Postgame Videos: