DETROIT – No. 6 UIC advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Little Caesars Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship with a 79-70 victory over No. 3 Green Bay at Joe Louis Arena late Sunday afternoon.
 
The Flames led by one at the half, but they seemingly put Green Bay away by scoring 15 unanswered points over a span of nearly seven minutes in the second period. UIC led by as many as 17, but the Phoenix was able to trim its deficit all the way down to two points with 1:08 to go. The young Flames made seven free throws in the final 65 seconds and did not turn the ball over in that span as they snagged a nine-point victory.
 
Sunday's victory snaps a 10-game skid against the Phoenix that dated back to the 2012-13 season. It also placed UIC in the semifinals for the first time since the 2014-15 season, and only the third time since the 2007-08 campaign.
 
How It Happened

• The game was very much a back-and-forth affair over the first 27 minutes or so before the Flames blew it wide open near the midway point of the second half. Green Bay's Warren Jones was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 13:04 remaining and he made 2-of-3 from the stripe.
• Just over a minute later, Dominique Matthews banged home a 3-pointer, went down and grabbed a defensive rebound, before drilling a basket in the lane that put UIC ahead 56-50 with 11:20 to go.
• UIC's defense forced Green Bay into tough shots and the Flames limited second chances for the Phoenix. The relentless pressure helped the Flames push the lead all the way up to 16 points for the first time with 5:19 to go when Marcus Ottey split a pair at the charity stripe.
• Green Bay's Charles Cooper ended a drought from the field that lasted 9:20 the next time down, but UIC extended the lead to a game-high 17 points with 3:53 remaining thanks to two free throws from K.J. Santos.
• Leading 70-53, the Phoenix flipped the script and began to attack UIC's young squad. Cooper and Jamar Hurdle did much of the heavy lifting for Green Bay and a free throw from Cooper topped a 17-2 run that took less than three minutes had the Phoenix down 72-70.
• Matthews (2), Tarkus Ferguson (2) and Ottey (1) combined to make seven consecutive free throws that thwarted the late rally and propelled UIC into the next round.
• UIC got off to a nice start from the field, opening up an 11-5 lead over the first 4:17. Four different Flames scored during the early action, K.J. Santos on a 3-pointer only 26 seconds into the ballgame.
• Green Bay went on the attack and used a 10-2 run to take a 26-18 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. After the Flames used a timeout to settle themselves, they scored 10 unanswered points that was capped when Ottey scored off a feed from Ferguson with 3:55 to go in the half to give UIC a 28-26 advantage.
• Ferguson's floater from inside the paint gave UIC the lead, 35-34, as the teams retreated to the locker room for the break.

 Beyond The Box Score

• The Flames became the fifth lower-seeded team to win at the Horizon League Championship. No. 9 Youngstown State and No. 10 Milwaukee took down No. 1 Oakland and No. 2 Valparaiso, respectively, on Saturday.
• UIC did not trail over the final 19:09 of the game. Green Bay's Kenneth Lowe got the first basket of the half to put his team ahead 36-35, but Matthews gave the Flames the lead for good on a 3-pointer from the left corner.
• UIC used its 10^th unique starting lineup of the season Sunday. Godwin Boahen opened a game for the Flames for the first time since Feb. 4 at Milwaukee.
• Ferguson produced his sixth double-double of the season, all of which have come against Horizon League opponents. He has two for UIC in the last three games. On Sunday, he also handed out a game-high five assists.
• The two teams tied with 49 rebounds each, however the Flames were +10 on the defensive glass.
•  UIC protected the ball and turned it over only 12 times. That tied for the second fewest miscues in a game this season.
• Matthews averaged a team-high 17 points per game in three meetings with Green Bay this season. Odiase averaged a double-double behind 14 points and 11 rebounds per game, plus he blocked 4.7 shots per contest against the Phoenix.

Quotable


 What's Next?

• The Flames will meet No. 10 Milwaukee (10-23) in the second semifinal on Monday night. The Panthers topped Detroit Mercy in the opening round, 85-60, before upsetting Valparaiso in the quarterfinals, 43-41.
• UIC won both regular-season meetings against Milwaukee this season. The Flames won at home on Jan. 17, 71-57, and they scored a season-high 105 points at UWM Panther Arena in a five-point win on Feb. 4.
• Monday's game will be televised on ESPNU with Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla on the call.
• Tickets to #MotorCityMadness are available by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421) or by visiting www.motorcitymadness.horizonleague.com.