Ohio Christian’s Titus Burns (Eastern Brown) takes a shot during halftime warm-ups. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Kai Dietrich throws down a dunk to start the second half. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Gavin Rabe scored 29 points against Ohio Christian. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Marlin Lyons scored 11 points against Ohio Christian. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Mackenzie Gloff (Eastern Brown) lines up a free throw against Ohio Christian. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Abby Strunk (Goshen) brings the ball upcourt for the Cougars. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Olivia Crawford (Fayetteville) brings the ball upcourt for the Cougars. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
UC Clermont’s Courtney Stewart (West Clermont) scored 10 points and secured seven rebounds against Ohio Christian. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
For the first time in over a year, the University of Cincinnati – Clermont men’s and women’s basketball teams held an on-campus doubleheader on Thursday, November 10.
The results were mixed. The women’s team overcame a late six-point deficit to take down Ohio Christian 69-66 while the men couldn’t hold a 56-39 halftime lead en route to a 93-89 loss.
It took a total team effort for the women’s team to improve to 3-1 on the season. UC Clermont shot just 34.7 percent from the field and was outrebounded 38-28, but the team forced 29 turnovers and held Ohio Christian to just 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“We got out on shooters like we needed to,” Kristi Duncan said. “We finished the game really strong.”
Head coach Ken Lowe said one key trait helped UC Clermont close out the contest.
“Patience,” Lowe said. “Towards the end, they wanted it more. I know they panicked there for a little bit. What I like about this group is they get along. They praise each other. They really cheer on each other. That’s different from what we’ve had in the past. We don’t have that one superstar, everyone comes in and they give minutes. They’re complimentary of each other.”
Duncan tallied 11 points and a total of six rebounds. Tyra Murphy led UC Clermont in points with 25. Ashley Moore scored 11 points, secured six boards and had four assists. Courtney Stewart finished with 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
Abby Strunk finished with four points and four rebounds. Mackenzie Gloff (four points), Olivia Crawford (two points) and Kiana Dauwe (two points) also contributed off the bench.
The victory marked the third consecutive win for the Cougars following a season-opening loss to Kentucky Christian.
“It feels really good,” Duncan said. “We’re going to keep it going. A lot more wins coming up.”
The men’s game didn’t go as well.
The Cougars held a large lead at halftime thanks to strong starts from Gavin Rabe and Marlin Lyons. By the end of the game, eight of the nine UC Clermont players that saw the court would score at least two points.
“That’s what we preach,” men’s head coach Steve Ellis said. “it’s not one guy, it’s all of us. We’re getting assists, we’re getting rebounds. You can’t ask for much more from these guys.”
UC Clermont made 11 three-point shots in the contest. Gavin Rabe made six of those en route to 29 points. His hot shooting in the first half combined with a stingy defense allowed the Cougars to build a 17-point lead at the break.
“I asked these guys to step up and go compete against a really good team and they did,” Ellis said. “It helps when we make shots. What an atmosphere it was, we just competed on both ends.”
Kai Dietrich started the second half with a dunk but the visitors chipped away from there. UC Clermont couldn’t hold off the onslaught from Ohio Christian and fell to 1-1 on the season with the loss.
“Give them credit, they came out in the second half and took it to us,” Ellis said. “Our defense wasn’t slowing them down like we were in the first half. That’s a really good team, I think we got better tonight even though we lost. I’m hoping we’re going to build on this.”
Dietrich tallied six points. Greg Marsh recorded a double-double, tallying 10 points and 10 assists. Lyons and David Froedge had 11 points each. Rabe finished with 29.
David Hunter had a double-double off the bench, scoring 10 points and 11 rebounds. Joel Iles added 10 points. Allan Powell had two points, five assists and four steals.
Both teams returned to the court on Monday, November 14 against Clark State.
The woman started the night with their fourth consecutive win, taking down the visitors 83-58 behind 19 points from Moore. Duncan tallied a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards. Murphy totaled 17 points.
Strunk scored eight points for UC Clermont. Crawford and Gloff tallied seven each with Dauwe chipping in four.
The men’s team couldn’t hang onto a two-point halftime advantage and fell 77-70. Marsh led the way with 23 points for UC Clermont. Hunter tallied nine points and 10 rebounds. Rabe (nine), Iles (seven) and Lyons (four) also cracked the scoring column for UC Clermont.
The women will look for their fifth consecutive win on Thursday, November 17 against Hocking College. The men are scheduled to return to the court on Saturday, November 19 against Kent State – Tuscarawas.