Jan. 19, 2008
Box Score
Chicago, Ill.- The UIC men's basketball team trailed visiting Detroit by as many as 11 in the first half, but the Flames clamped down on defense after intermission and outscored the Titans 14-3 in the final five minutes of the contest to rally for a 75-65 victory at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Robert Bush and Robert Kreps scored 17 points apiece to lead a quintet of Flames (10-8, 4-3 Horizon League) in double-digit scoring.
Scott VanderMeer scored 13 and pulled down 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year and third double-dip in the last five games.
Tori Boyd scored a career-best 12 points off the bench, while Josh Mayo scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
Kreps dished out a career-high seven assists as the Flames had 17 helpers on 22 field goals.
Jon Goode, who scored a career-high 35 points for Detroit (4-14, 0-8 Horizon League), had the hot hand in the opening 20 minutes as the Titan senior put up 20 first-half points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field to help the visitors jet out to an early lead.
Bush kept UIC within striking distance with his long-range shooting. The senior guard hit four of six three-point attempts in the inaugural half.
The Titans would use a 13-4 run over a span of three minutes and 26 seconds late in the first period to lead by as many as 11. A pair of Boyd free throws and a late Kreps trey trimmed the Flames' deficit to six heading into the locker room for the half.
Mayo opened the second half with two consecutive three-pointers in an early 45-second span to even the game at 39-39. Detroit would fight back and regain the lead, holding the advantage for most of the first 10 minutes of the half.
After the lead changed seven times, Kreps hit a pair of free throws at the 4:50 mark to give UIC the lead and spur a 14-3 Flames run that put the game away.
The Flames allowed Detroit to shoot just 31.3 percent (10-for-32) in the game's final 20 minutes after the Titans hit from the field at a rate of 50 percent (15-for-30) prior to intermission.
Kreps finished the contest 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.
UIC will play Valparaiso at the Crusaders' Athletics-Recreation Center this Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:00 p.m.
