Feb. 24, 2000

Box Score

Dayton, Ohio - The road woes continued for the UIC men's basketball team Thursday night as it dropped a 72-52 decision to the Wright State Raiders. The loss puts the Flames' overall record at 10-18 while they are now 5-8 in MCC play and tied for fifth-place with UW-Green Bay and Wright State. UIC will look to clinch fifth-place on Saturday when it plays at league-leader Butler at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

The Flames, who are 1-11 away from the UIC Pavilion this year, got behind big early as the Raiders jumped out to a 17-point lead, 29-12, with 5:27 remaining in the first half. The Flames shot poorly, hitting 33% from the field, 16.7% beyond the three-point arc and 33% at the free throw line, making a come-back nearly impossible.

In the final period, UIC managed to cut the lead to 13 points, 58-45, with 5:39 to play, but couldn't get any closer than that as it continued to struggle from the field, shooting just 29.4% in the final period. The Flames, who were outrebounded, 41-33, turned the ball over just nine times, but the poor shooting cost them.

Jordan Kardos, who has picked up his play as of late, led UIC with 13 points off the bench while Theandre Kimbrough tallied 10 points for the Flames' only two double-digit scorers.

Maurice Brown, UIC's leading scorer and rebounder in league play, managed just six points and one rebound, down from his MCC averages of 13.3 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

Wright State's Kevin Melson led all scorers with 24 points while center Israel Sheinfield added a "double-double" of 23 points and 11 rebounds in the win.