Cincinnati Falls To Indiana State In NIT Quarterfinals
The Cincinnati Bearcats were unable to continue their run in the Postseason NIT, as they lost to the Indiana State Sycamores, 85-81, on Tuesday.
For the first time in the NIT, the Bearcats (21-15) had to go on the road, this time to Terre Haute, Ind., to face the Sycamores (31-6), the alma mater of NBA legend Larry Bird.
The game was tied at 77-77 with 2:38 after Cincinnati’s Simas Lukosius drained a 3-pointer. From there, the two teams traded missed shots or turnovers on the next three possessions before Indiana State’s Robbie Avila drilled a 3-pointer with a minute left to put the Sycamores up with one minute to play.
Avila finished with 22 points, one of four Sycamores in double figures.
After that, the Bearcats just couldn’t get the game back square. Dan Skillings Jr. missed a shot, followed by Aziz Bandaogo being fouled and sent to the line for a 1-and-1.
He missed the front end, and the Sycamores rebounded, prompting the Bearcats to foul.
Indiana State’s Julian Larry missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Jizzle James’ drive to the basket came up empty, as Avila was able to defend him well enough to avert a basket, and the Sycamores rebounded.
Two Jayson Kent free throws made it a five-point game, but the Bearcats didn’t give up. Lukosius hit a bank-shot 3-pointer with eight seconds left to cut the lead to two points, and then the Bearcats fouled Isaiah Swope with 5.7 seconds left.
Swope shot two free throws but only made one. Lukosius got the ball and tried to heave a game-tying 3-pointer from 75 feet away but was fouled before he could get the ball in a shooting position.
Lukosius made the first free throw to cut the lead to two. He intentionally missed the second, but the shot caromed off the rim too quickly for Bandaogo to reach up and get it. The Sycamores grabbed the rebound and iced the game with two free throws from Xavier Bledson.
Lukosius finished with 26 points, while James had 21 points. Skillings added 12 points.
Cincinnati previously beat San Francisco and Bradley at home to reach Tuesday’s quarterfinal against the Sycamores.
The Bearcats were the only remaining Big 12 team in the NIT after both Kansas State and UCF lost their first-round games.
Iowa State and Houston are the two remaining Big 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament and will play on Thursday and Friday, respectively, in the Sweet 16.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
