Men’s basketball battles in physical opener at Cincinnati

UE falls by 65-43 final on Tuesday evening

 CINCINNATI, Ohio – Evan Kuhlman and Blaise Beauchamp scored 11 points apiece in Tuesday’s season opener that saw the University of Evansville men’s basketball team fall to the University of Cincinnati by a final of 65-43 inside Fifth Third Arena.

Kuhlman drained three triples while adding six rebounds while Beauchamp hit a team-high four free throws.  Shamar Givance recorded 7 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds while Noah Frederking scored six while leading the way with 8 rebounds.  Pacing the Bearcats was Jeremiah Davenport, who scored 11 points and hit three triples.

“We have not seen that kind of length, speed and aggressiveness.  I thought we kept guarding and I am sure there will be some good lessons from tonight,” UE head coach Todd Lickliter said.  “We really fought on the boards, our defensive rebounding was tremendous.  Cincinnati really challenged us, it was a physical game and our guys kept fighting away.”

Jawaun Newton got the Aces on the board in the opening minutes, giving his team a 2-0 lead.  The defense had a strong start, holding the Bearcats to just one make in their first eight tries.  At the 14:49 mark, Cincinnati took its first lead at 5-3 before a pair of Blaise Beauchamp free throws tied it at 5-5 before a triple by the sophomore gave Evansville an 8-5 edge.

With 11:10 showing on the clock, a layup by Shamar Givance solidified a 13-10 UE lead.  That is when Cincinnati made its run, outscoring the Purple Aces by an 18-1 margin to go up 28-14.  Spearheading the stretch for UC was Mason Madsen, who knocked down back-to-back treys to give his team a 16-13 edge.  Following a Givance free throw, Jeremiah Davenport made it three 3’s in a row in a stretch that was capped off on a Mike Saunders Jr. layup at the 4-minute mark that made it a 28-14 game.

UE’s offense missed 11 shots in a row during a scoreless drought that lasted 7 minutes and 35 seconds.  The Aces also turned it over twice.  Following a media time out, it was Newton who got his team back on track with a layup.  Noah Frederking and Evan Kuhlman added late triples that saw Evansville cut the deficit to single digits at the break, trailing 31-22.

Cincinnati took its largest lead at 44-26 at the 13:01 mark of the second half.  Evansville countered when Antoine Smith Jr. knock down a triple to cut the deficit back to 15 points at 44-29, forcing a Bearcat time out.  They responded following the stoppage, pushing the advantage to 20 points for the first time at 53-33 just past the midway point of the final period.

Over the final moments, the Aces cut the deficit to 15 points, but a late stretch by the Bearcats saw them finish with the 65-43 victory.  Cincinnati finished the game shooting 45.5% while holding the Aces to 25.9%.  UC also finished with a 41-34 rebounding edge.

“This game gives us something to build on.  We did not shy away, we kept trying to do our stuff,” Lickliter added.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Aces, who will open the Ford Center schedule on Thursday against IUPUI.