Nov. 23, 2002
Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - The UIC men's basketball opened the 2002-03 season on a sour note, dropping a 73-68 decision to Evansville on Friday night in front of 9,003 at Roberts Stadium.
The Flames (0-1) led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but the Purple Aces (1-0) came roaring back, outscoring UIC 31-13 over the final 14 minutes to earn the win.
The loss spoiled a career-best effort from Flames junior Aaron Carr, who started in place of Cedrick Banks. Carr netted a personal-high 16 points while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Senior Jonathan Schndeiderman led the Flames in scoring with 17 points, going 5-of-7 from three point range. Junior Martell Bailey had a strong all-around outing with 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds for UIC.
Center Dan Lytle led four Aces in double figures with a game-high 20 points.
UIC was plagued by poor free throw shooting, going 3-for-14 in the game, including eight consecutive misses during a 16-4 Evansville run that helped them turn a 53-41 Flames' lead into a 57-57 game.
The Purple Aces, meanwhile, were stellar from the stripe, converting 80% (24-for-30) of their charity tosses.
The Flames trailed by three with 16 seconds left and had a chance to tie the game, but newcomer Richard Lesko's three-point attempt rimmed out. Senior Ian Hanavan then hit two free throws to seal the win for the Aces.
Evansville, despite being outrebounded 37-32, cotrolled the post offensively, outscoring UIC, 30-20, in the paint.
UIC will look to even its record on the year on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Eastern Illinois (1-1) to the UIC Pavilion at 4:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Chicago and ESPN Radio 1000.
