Evansville Purple Aces at Cincinnati Bearcats
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Big second half rallies Cincinnati past Evansville 76-58
Cincinnati, now 10-0 at home, outscored Evansville 44-18 in the second half, led by Simas Lukosius who scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range.
In addition to Newman's 16 points, Lukosius finished with 15, Viktor Lahkin 11, Dan Skillings Jr. 10 and Day Day Thomas 10 for the Bearcats (11-2). Thomas added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Lahkin had nine rebounds with four assists.
Yacine Toumi had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Evansville (10-3). Kenny Strawbridge scored 14 points and Tanner Cuff added 11.
After being outshot 58% to 36% and falling behind 40-32 in the first half, the Bearcats dominated the second half.
Cincinnati held Evansville to 10 points over the first 12 minutes after halftime while scoring 28. The Bearcats led 60-48 with slightly over eight minutes left in the game. Lukosius scored nine points on 3-for-3 3-point shooting and Newman added six in the run. After Toumi hit a jumper to open the second half, the Purple Aces missed their next 13 shots.
Three-pointers from Lukosius and Newman helped put the Bearcats up 67-50 with about five minutes remaining and they led by at least 14 points the rest of the way.
The Bearcats shot 39% for the game and got a boost from a 49-29 advantage in rebounds. They had 18 offensive rebounds, leading to a 17-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Evansville is off to its best start in several seasons, having reached double digits in wins for the first time since 2018-19. Their 10 wins so far are twice as many as last season. The Purple Aces (1-1 Missouri Valley Conference) return to conference play on Wednesday with a road game against Indiana State.
The Bearcats open Big 12 play on Saturday, Jan. 6, when they face BYU on the road.
How can I watch Evansville vs. Cincinnati?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 58 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 58 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:11 | Kenny Strawbridge Jr. made Jumper. Assisted by Gage Bobe. | 58 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:19 | Dan Skillings Jr. made Dunk. | 56 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:45 | Viktor Lakhin Defensive Rebound. | 56 - 74 |
Statistics
 EVAN |
 CIN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 24-58 | FG | 27-69 |
| 41 | Field Goal % | 39 |
| 3-12 | 3PT | 12-29 |
| 25 | Three Point % | 41 |
| 7-13 | FT | 10-15 |
| 54 | Free Throw % | 67 |
| 29 | Rebounds | 49 |
| 5 | Offensive Rebounds | 18 |
| 24 | Defensive Rebounds | 31 |
| 12 | Assists | 22 |
| 7 | Steals | 7 |
| 7 | Blocks | 8 |
| 11 | Turnovers | 12 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 11 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 13 | Points Off Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 5 |
| 28 | Points in Paint | 26 |
| 13 | Fouls | 12 |
| 9 | Largest Lead | 20 |
Game Information
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 10,977 | Capacity:
2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 2-0 | - | 12-1 |
| Northern Iowa | 1-0 | 0.5 | 9-2 |
| Illinois State | 1-0 | 0.5 | 9-3 |
| Murray State | 1-0 | 0.5 | 9-3 |
| Bradley | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-4 |
| Valparaiso | 0-0 | 1 | 6-5 |
| Indiana State | 0-1 | 1.5 | 7-5 |
| Drake | 0-1 | 1.5 | 6-6 |
| Southern Illinois | 0-1 | 1.5 | 6-6 |
| Evansville | 0-1 | 1.5 | 4-8 |
| UIC | 0-2 | 2 | 4-7 |
2025-26 Big 12 Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 0-0 | - | 11-0 |
| Iowa State | 0-0 | - | 11-0 |
| BYU | 0-0 | - | 11-1 |
| Houston | 0-0 | - | 11-1 |
| Oklahoma State | 0-0 | - | 10-1 |
| UCF | 0-0 | - | 10-1 |
| Colorado | 0-0 | - | 10-2 |
| Baylor | 0-0 | - | 8-2 |
| Arizona State | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| Kansas | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| Texas Tech | 0-0 | - | 9-3 |
| TCU | 0-0 | - | 8-3 |
| Kansas State | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
| Utah | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
| West Virginia | 0-0 | - | 8-4 |
| Cincinnati | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |