CHICAGO – UIC turned up the jets on both ends of the floor in the late stages Saturday afternoon as they knocked off the Judson College Eagles, 95-78, in an exhibition contest. The Flames outscored the Eagles 25-8 over the final 7:30 minutes to cruise to the tune-up victory.
 
UIC sophomore Dikembe Dixson led all players with 34 points in the victory, while newcomers Tarkus Ferguson, Godwin Boahen and K.J. Santos were also in double figures in the scoring column with 12, 11 and 11 points, respectively.
 
How It Happened

• UIC got off to a fast start. After winning the opening tip, Tai Odiase slammed home an alley-oop pass from freshman K.J. Santos just 10 seconds into the contest.
• The first eight points the Flames scored came via dunks. Odiase had the first, Ferguson has the second, and Dixson had the next two.
• After taking a 15-8 lead, the Flames surrendered an 8-0 run that ended when Marcus Ottey came up with a steal and a slam at the other end to regain the lead at 17-16.
• The home team eventually ballooned its lead back to a half-high nine points with 1:46 to play in the period following an acrobatic layup from Dixson.
• The Eagles pulled within a deuce after a 3-point basket with 50 seconds remaining, but UIC's Ferguson drained a triple of his own with 34 seconds to go to set the halftime score at 44-39.
• Judson briefly took the lead in the second half with 17:58 left after scoring the first six points of the stanza. Dixson hit a mid-range jumper nine seconds later, however, to regain the edge.
• Later, the Eagles regained the lead and pushed the lead to eight points on a couple of occasions. UIC used a 16-8 run to eventually tie the game when Ferguson buried another 3-pointer with 9:43 to go. A pair of free throws from Ferguson at the 8:59 mark gave the Flames a lead once again.
• The Flames closed the game on a 25-8 run over the game's final 7:30.
• UIC held the Eagles to a mark of 39.4 percent from the field in the second half after yielding a 53.6 percent clip in the first.
• The Flames picked up 11 steals with Santos and Ferguson leading the way with three apiece.
• Odiase blocked three shots in 22 minutes, while newcomer Clint Robinson rejected a pair.
• Santos, the 6-foot-8 freshman, dished out a team-high four assists for UIC. The Flames had 13 helpers as a team.

 
Beyond The Box Score

• The only two players to start all 30 games for UIC last season, Dixson and Odiase, were joined in the starting lineup Saturday by three true freshmen: Santos, Ottey and Ferguson.
• Dixson scored a game-high 34 points in only 26 minutes of action. He eclipsed 30 points twice as a true freshman a year ago, but only played fewer than 26 minutes one time.
• Dixson shot 56 percent (10-of-18) from the floor and 92.3 percent (12-of-13) from the charity stripe.
• All 12 players who dressed for the game, saw playing time for the Flames. Nine of the 11 players scored at least three points.
• Kevin Sexton scored a team-high 20 points for the Eagles, though he was held scoreless over the final 15:07.

 
UIC will begin the regular season next weekend with a road trip to the West Coast. The Flames will meet the San Francisco Dons to start the season for the second consecutive year when the two teams tangle on Friday, Nov. 11 in the Golden Gate City at 10 p.m. CT.