Jan. 13, 2001
Green Bay, Wis. - The UIC men's basketball team earned its first road win against an NCAA Division I opponent in over two years on Saturday night as it captured a hard-fought 55-51 victory at UW-Green Bay.
The Flames, whose last win on the road against a D-1 program came on Jan. 7, 1999 when they knocked off Cleveland State, 89-77, improved to 8-8 for the year and 2-1 in Midwestern Collegiate Conference play. UW-Green Bay fell to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in league action.
"This was a great win for us," Head Coach Jimmy Collins said. "I was pleased to see the team stick together to pull this one out. We rebounded well, we didn't commit many fouls and we turned the ball over just 13 times, so that all certainly helped to get this win."
The game was a tight affair from the get-go as neither team enjoyed a lead of more than six points in the first half, but a three-pointer by Jonathan Schneiderman to end the first period gave the Flames a 28-25 lead at the break.
Back-to-back baskets by Aaron Shaw and Greg Babcock to start the second half gave UW-Green Bay a one-point lead, 29-28, but a pair of free throws two minutes later by Jordan Kardos returned the advantage to UIC, 30-29, and it would not trail again down the stretch.
The Flames, who shot just 36.5% from the field for the game, but outrebounded UW-Green Bay, 35-27, upped their lead to as many as four points, 44-40, with eight minutes to play, but the Phoenix hung around and with 3:21 remaining in the game, the teams found themselves deadlocked at 50-50.
UIC's defense, which limited UWGB to just one three-pointer in 13 tries in the game, was solid down the stretch, though, as it held the Phoenix without a field goal the rest of the way. Reserve guard Taurus Cook came up big for the Flames as he tallied four of his seven points in the final 2:48 of the game, including a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to seal the 55-51 victory.
Forward Maurice Brown was a beast for the second straight game as recorded his sixth "double-double" of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end of the court.
Guard Jon-Pierre Mitchom, coming off of a career-high performance off 33 points against UW-Milwaukee last Thursday, reach double figures for the eighth time this year with 11 points.
The Flames will have a full week off to prepare for crosstown rival, Loyola, which comes to the UIC Pavilion this Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
