By Henry Rawn
3 1 2025
Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James combined for 37 points
HOUSTON – Two big runs in the first 12 minutes, the latter by Houston to take a lead it would not surrender, saw the No. 4 and Big 12 regular-season champion Cougars defeat Cincinnati 73-64 on Saturday afternoon in the Fertitta Center.
Senior guard Day Day Thomas led UC with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The mark was one off his season-high 20 points at UCF. Thomas did this while playing only 19 minutes as he battled foul trouble the whole game.
Sophomore guard Jizzle James added 18 points, five assists and three steals as the Bearcats dropped to 17-12 overall and 7-11 in the Big 12.
Cincinnati scored 10-straight points early in the game, holding Houston scoreless for 5:39, before the Cougars called a timeout down 10-2 at 13:22. It included Dillon Mitchell’s eighth 3-pointer of the season.
While Cincinnati had opportunities to expand the lead, Houston found new life, building its own 14-0 run that put them ahead, 16-10, at 7:50. After its 1-for-9 start from the field, UH shot 62% the rest of the way.
Thomas opened the second half with the first five points, giving him a team-high nine at that time. Still, he was whistled for two fouls in the first 4:07 of the game, then tagged with his fourth at 17:55 of the second half. That second bucket pulled UC within 39-32, its first time in single-digits since 4:10 of the first.
The Bearcats got their first free-throw attempts with 5:51 left, as Josh Reed sank both to improve to 23-for-26 (88.5 percent) on the year.
Cincinnati used that momentum to force back-to-back turnovers deep in the backcourt, leading to three more points. It ultimately became an 8-0 run over 1:23 that brought UC within 65-54 with five minutes remaining.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati returns home Wednesday for Senior Night against Kansas State (7 p.m. on ESPN+).
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