CHICAGO –  UIC shot 56 percent in the first half Saturday, but the Flames were held to a mark of 30.4 percent with seven field goals in the second half as Cleveland State came from behind to win at the UIC Pavilion, 66-63.
 
UIC led by four at the break after making 14 of its 25 shots, but CSU also shot 50 percent (12-of-24) and the Flames led by just four points.
 
The Flames trailed for much of the second half until Tarkus Ferguson made a pair of free throws with 4:23 to go, giving the home team a 61-58 lead. The Vikings regained the lead with 2:16 to play on a free throw of their own, and despite UIC's best efforts, the Flames could not retake the edge from that point forward.
 
UIC's Tai Odiase led all players with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-11 from the floor. He was also the game's top rebounder and shot blocker with seven and three, respectively. Dominique Matthews and Marcus Ottey also netted 12 points for the Flames.
 
How It Happened

• The Flames caught fire about midway through the first half to create some separation. After Cleveland State's Bobby Word hit a 3-pointer, UIC's Tarkus Ferguson whipped a pass from outside the arc to a wide open Odiase for a dunk that put the home team ahead, 20-19.
• Odiase's dunk was the second of six consecutive field goals for the Flames as they used a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead of the half, 10 points, with 8:08 left in the frame. The run was capped when Kyle Guice drilled a 3-pointer about 24 feet from the basket.
• The Vikings put together their own 14-2 run to cut the gap to two points with 1:47 left in the half. Matthews and Odiase each buried two free throws in the final 90 seconds, as did Word, leaving UIC a 39-35 at the break.
• Cleveland State came out aggressive to open the second half, scoring the first nine points before Odiase hit a short jumper to end the surge with 3:46 gone by in the second stanza.
• The Flames pulled to within a point on multiple occasions over the next several minutes, but the Vikings countered each time as they maintained leads of up to six points throughout the frame.
• UIC finally broke through with just under six minutes to go. After K.J. Santos sank a running jumper, Matthews drove hard to the rim and rolled in a layup with 5:54 to go that put the Flames on top 59-58. Ferguson sank a pair of free throws 1:31 later that pushed the lead to three points.
• Following a missed 3-pointer from CSU, the Flames failed to capitalize and committed a turnover. After a free throw made it a two-point game, Demonte Flannigan tied it back up on a layup with 2:45 to go.
• The Vikings pushed the lead to five points, but their struggles at the free throw line allowed UIC to hang around. Cleveland State led 66-63 after Ottey made two free throws with 14.1 seconds to go and Bobby Word was quickly fouled. He missed the front end of his 1-and-1 opportunity and Ferguson garnered the rebound. He pushed the ball ahead, but his off-balance 3-point attempt drew iron and CSU's Jibri Blount got the rebound.
• Blount was fouled and missed the first free throw that would have made it a two-possession game. Clint Robinson got the rebound and called timeout with 2.5 seconds to go. Following a timeout, UIC was unable to inbound the ball cleanly and Cleveland State collected a three-point road win.

 Beyond The Box Score

• This was the 11^th game this season, and fifth in a row, that was decided by five points or less. UIC is 5-6 in those contests and 2-3 in the last five.
• The Flames moved to 10-3 on the season when leading at halftime. In both regular season games against the Vikings, the team that led after 20 minutes ended up taking a close loss.
• The Vikings took advantage of 18 UIC turnovers, turning those miscues into 26 points. It is the sixth time this season that the opposition has netted at least 25 points off turnovers against the Flames.
• Odiase led UIC in scoring for the fifth time this season and he was the top rebounder for the 12^th time. The Glenwood, Ill., native finished with three blocks, marking the 12^th time this season, and ninth time in Horizon League play that he sent back at least as many shots.
• Matthews made his fourth start of the season and second in as many games. The guard scored 12 points with six rebounds and three assists against the Vikings. He also played a season-high 38 minutes.
• The Flames shot 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the free throw line, the high mark this season and the best output in 56 games under second-year head coach Steve McClain.
• UIC went 1-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half after shooting 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from downtown in the first half. Ottey sank the second-half trey with 8:50 left in the game.

 What's Next?

• UIC will travel to the Great Lakes State next weekend for games against Detroit Mercy and Oakland.
• The Flames will meet the Detroit Mercy Titans in Calihan Hall on Friday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. CT. UIC won the first meeting between the two schools on Jan. 6, 78-64.
• The weekend also features a visit to Oakland on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.
• Both games will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.