Lakhin helps Cincinnati stay unbeaten with 86-81 victory over Howard in OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Viktor Lakhin scored six of his 19 points in overtime and unbeaten Cincinnati rallied last in an 86-81 victory over Howard on Tuesday night.

Marcus Dockery hit a jumper for the Bison (3-5) to open the extra period. Lakhin made two free throws for the Bearcats (6-0) and followed a layup by John Newman III with one of his own for an 80-76 lead.

Seth Towns, whose 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left sent the game to OT tied at 74, missed the second of two free throws with a chance to pull Howard even at 82 with 42 seconds remaining. Newman made free throws before and after a Bison timeout with nine seconds to go and then stole the ball from Miles Stewart and picked up an assist on a dunk by Day Day Thomas to wrap up the win.

Lakhin made 8 of 14 shots and grabbed six rebounds for Cincinnati, which last won six in a row to begin a season in 2017-18. Dan Skillings Jr. had 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Aziz Bandaogo had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field and free-throw line. Newman totaled 11 points and six boards. Reserve Simas Lukosius hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.

Towns hit three 3-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws, scoring 24 with seven rebounds to pace Howard. Dockery had 13 points and reserve Jordan Hairston pitched in with 11 points and five rebounds.

Skillings scored 10 first-half points to lead the Bearcats to a 34-29 lead.

Cincinnati's first road game of the season was also its second all-time at an HBCU school. The Bearcats traveled to play Tennessee State in 1988. Cincinnati had home wins over the Bison in 1996 and 2006 in two previous matchups.

Cincinnati's bench came in averaging 36.8 points per game — eighth best in the country. The reserves scored 38 against the Bison.

Cincinnati looks for its seventh straight victory when it hosts Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. Howard returns to action at Pennsylvania on Dec. 11.

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