Box Score
Feb. 3, 2000 - UIC's unbeaten streak at Cleveland State's Goodman Arena under fourth-year head coach Jimmy Collins came to end tonight as the Vikings handed the Flames their 16th loss of the season, 85-73. UIC had compiled a 3-0 record under Collins in its three previous visits to CSU.
The road woes continue for the Flames, who visit Detroit on Saturday, as they are now 1-11 away from the UIC Pavilion this year. The Flames' last road victory against a Division I opponent came last season at Cleveland State as UIC pulled off an 89-77 victory on Jan. 7. Earlier this year, the Flames earned a 90-64 win at American University of Puerto Rico, an NCAA Division II school.
UIC played a strong first half on both ends of the court against Cleveland State as it shot 48.6% from the field while holding the Vikes to just 37.9%. The Flames, who committed just five turnovers in the first stanza and enjoyed a 37-33 halftime edge, also held a 19-17 rebounding edge as Cory Little paced UIC with five boards.
Leading scorer Theandre Kimbrough led the Flames with 11 points and five assists at the break while holding CSU's top scorer, Damon Stringer, to just six points with a pair of turnovers.
In the second half, however, the tables turned on the Flames as Cleveland State heated up to hit 51.5% from the field while its defense limited UIC to 34.2%. Up 49-44 with 14:04 remaining in the game, the Flames quickly saw their lead and the game slip away as Cleveland State used a 14-0 over the next 3:24 to build a 58-49 lead. James Madison, who led all scorers with 27 points for the evening, rallied the Vikings during the stretch with eight points.
Cleveland State (13-9, 7-1 MCC) immediately followed up its 14-0 run with an 11-3 run to see its largest lead of the evening, 69-54, with 6:34 to play. Stringer, the MCC Player of the Week on Monday following a 47-point outburst in the overtime win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee last Saturday, put in five of his 20 points during the run.
UIC (7-16, 2-6 MCC) tried valiantly to comeback and came as close as eight points with 36 seconds to play, but Stringer sealed the victory as he drained all four of his free throw attempts in the final seconds.
Kimbrough finished up the night with 20 points while Joe Scott added 13 points and three blocked shots and Maurice Brown tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds.
UIC will be in action on the road again Saturday afternoon when it visits the Detroit Titans at 3:00 p.m. (CST). Fans can hear the action on ESPN Radio 1000 as Dave Wills calls the action and Norm Van Lier adds the color commentary.
