Dec. 19, 2006

Box Score

Oxford, Miss. - Ole Miss closed Tuesday night's contest with the UIC men's basketball team on a 13-3 run, breaking open an otherwise see-saw affair en route to a 77-64 victory over the Flames at Tad Smith Coliseum.

UIC (6-6) trailed 64-61 with 4:10 remaining when freshman Spencer Stewart's game-tying three-point attempt rimmed out. The Rebels (10-2) would not give the Flames another chance to even the score, running off 13 straight points to secure the victory.

Junior T.J. Gray led UIC in scoring for the second straight game with 17 points, netting five three-pointers. Junior Othyus Jeffers tabbed 14 points and five rebounds.

Clarence Sanders led four Ole Miss players in double figures with 20 points.

The Flames led by as many as six points in the first half and took a 27-26 lead into intermission.

The score was tied five times and their were three lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but UIC couldn't keep up with Ole Miss, which shot 65 percent from the field (19-for-29) and 67 percent from behind the arc (6-for-9) in the final stanza.

The Flames connected on 11 three-pointers in the contest, but shot 38 percent from the field overall on the night.

UIC will continue its stretch of four games in eight days on Thursday when the Flames square off with Penn at the Palestra at 6 p.m.