Feb. 13, 2009

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS- The UIC men's basketball team cut a huge early deficit to 15th-ranked Butler down to eight points with four minutes remaining, but the Flames' late rally was thwarted by the Bulldogs, 80-61, inside Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday.

Josh Mayo scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Flames (11-14, 4-11 Horizon League). Spencer Stewart hit three three-pointers for nine points, while Jeremy Buttell pulled down 10 rebounds.

Matt Howard had 19 points and eight rebounds and Gordon Hayward finished with 18 points for Butler (22-2, 13-1 Horizon League), who hit 13 three-pointers in winning its 16th in a row at home.

UIC fell into a 25-8 hole midway through the first half and would trail by as many as 19 during the period, but the Flames rattled off a 9-2 run before the break to get within 12.

The Flames would cut the deficit to seven in the early moments of the second half, but the Bulldogs hit three straight three-pointers and eventually surged ahead by 18.

After Ronald Nored hit a three to put Butler up 68-52 with just under six minutes remaining, the UIC backcourt of Mayo and Robo Kreps combined to scored eight unanswered points that pushed the Flames to within eight with 4:02 on the game clock. Mayo initiated a nifty three-point play by making a bucket off glass on an inbounds feed and getting fouled by Butler's Willie Veasley in the process, and Kreps canned a trey just a short time later to trim UIC's disadvantage to 68-60.

The Flames had the ball with just under four minutes left and a chance to saw off even more points from their deficit. But Zach Hahn stole the ball and pushed it ahead to Shelvin Mack, who converted a layup as Stewart was whistled for a block.

Mack missed the subsequent free throw, yet the momentum had already swung back into the Bulldogs' favor. Hahn and Hayward hit back-to-back three-point daggers shortly thereafter to cap an decisive 8-0 Butler burst that moved the hosts ahead by 16 with 1:46 left.

UIC played without coach Jimmy Collins, who was in Syracuse, N.Y., attending the funeral of his mother, Lorraine Collins Trapps. Associate head coach Mark Coomes replaced Collins on the sideline.

Butler also played with a heavy heart less than 24 hours after the girlfriend of Kevin Kuwik, the team's coordinator of basketball operations, died in a plane crash in suburban Buffalo, N.Y. Kuwik was in Buffalo attending his brother's wedding.

Fans, players and coaches observed a moment of silence before the game to honor Collins' mother and Kuwik's girlfriend, Lorin Maurer.

UIC heads to Valparaiso, Ind. to take on Valpo inside the Athletics-Recreation Center at 3 p.m.