Rudi Ayasse

Box Score

Youngstown State YSU 6-20 (4-9 HL)

100

UIC UIC 15-11 (10-3 HL)

Youngstown State YSU

6-20 (4-9 HL)

Final

Feb. 08, 2018

100

UIC UIC

15-11 (10-3 HL)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Youngstown State YSU	34	41	75
UIC UIC	47	53	100

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/8/2018 9:18:00 PM

Flames Hit Century Mark, Win Seventh Straight

Tenth Horizon League Win Is Best Conference Start Since 1997-98

CHICAGO -- The red-hot UIC Flames (15-11, 10-3 HL) scorched the nets and the Youngstown State Penguins, 100-75 at UIC Pavilion Thursday evening. By shooting over 52 percent, and 58 percent in the second half, the Flames won their seventh straight game and 10^th of their last 11. It's the program's longest winning streak since 2012, when the squad also won seven in a row.

Dikembe Dixson led four Flames in double figures with 22 points. Tai Odiase blocked a conference-high six shots. Tarkus Ferguson handed out 10 assists for the efficient Flames offense that set a season high in assists with 24 as a team.

First Half Headlines

Game Stays Even to Start: The teams exchanged brief scoring spurts throughout the first six minutes, with neither side gaining a lead of more than four points. Tai Odiase had two blocks to stymie the Penguins. Later, he added his third, an emphatic, highlight-reel swat of Devin Haygood's attempt.
Flames Rain Threes: UIC's offense caught fire at the 14-minute mark. Dikembe Dixson was fouled on a three pointer and converted all three free throws, and three balls from Godwin Boahen and Dominic Matthews (twice) followed, as part of a 15-5 run that gave the home team a 12 point lead.
Treading Water From the Line: Youngstown State whittled their deficit from 12 to six points thanks to a stretch during which UIC made only one of 10 field goals. The Flames kept YSU from closing any further by making their free throws. At one point in the first half, the Flames were 10-for-13 from the stripe while YSU was a mere 2-for-4.
Diggins Goes Off: Freshman Michael Diggins had his most meaningful stretch of the season to date. He scored three straight Flames baskets, all layups, and converted a three point play after being fouled on the last one. His seven points in just 56 seconds put UIC up by 12 points in the final minute.
Beating the Buzzer: Dixson was fouled while attempting a last second three-pointer. He made all three free throws with 0.1 seconds on the clock.

Second Half Headlines

Flames Add On: A fast start to the second half propelled the Flames to a 20 point cushion. Marcus Ottey hit a three out of the gate, Marcus Ottey made a layup on the fast break, and Dixson and Odiase contributed dunks. Meanwhile, the Penguins made only one of their first seven shots.
Boahen In Control: Godwin Boahen was responsible for eight of 10 Flames points around the midway point of the half. He threaded the needle to find Ferguson open for a layup, and made two three-pointers.
More Threes: Following Boahen's second three, Matthews and Dixson each made one to push the Flames' margin to 22 points. The Penguins played to within three points over the final seven-plus minutes, thanks to three triples from Cameron Morse, who finished with a game high 26 points.
Keeping It 100: Matthews' three with under two minutes to play put UIC at 98 points, setting a season high. Jordan Blount's putback in the final minute got the Flames to the century mark for the first time since last Feb. 4.

Notables

At 10-3 in the Horizon League, the Flames are off to their best start in conference play since the 1997-98 NCAA tournament team went 11-2.
UIC has won at least 10 league contests for the first time since 2003-04. With an 18 game Horizon League slate, the Flames have clinched their first winning record in league play since the same 2003-04 season.
UIC bumped their winning streak against YSU to four straight; their longest streak in the series against their Ohio rivals since 2006.
The 25 point margin of victory was the second largest in the history of the series, trailing only UIC's 26-point win (73-47) on March 1, 2003.
With assists on 24 of 33 field goals, the Flames eclipsed their previous season high of 21, set earlier against Youngstown State (Jan. 18).
UIC's first three baskets were made by Tai Odiase in the paint, and five of their first six makes were layups.
Following that opening spurt, three of four Flames buckets were three pointers.
Two of them came from Dominique Matthews, who had not made more than one triple in a game since the first meeting with Youngstown State.
Four Flames have over 10 points and two more had nine. UIC had placed five in double figures only twice this season – against Kentucky, and in the first meeting with Youngstown State.
Every Flame who saw action scored at least two points. It was the ninth time this season that every player scored, and the third time in the last four games.
The Flames tied their season low in turnovers with nine, set previously against Youngstown State on Jan. 18. Penguin opponents are averaging 16.0 miscues per game.
Boahen made at least three 3-pointers for the sixth time this season.
Ferguson's game high 10 assists were his most since the last game against YSU, and the third time this season he dropped 10 or more dimes.
UIC shot 58 percent in the second half, including 54 percent (7-13) on threes. They have had at least one half with a 50 percent or greater field goal percentage in nine of their last ten Horizon League contests.
Youngstown State held the edge on the glass, 45-38, as they did in the first matchup. The Penguins snagged 23 offensive rebounds, but scored only 14 second chance points.