Dec. 11, 2010

Final Stats

ILLINOIS STATE 53, UIC 43 (FINAL STATS)

NORMAL, Ill. - Senior forward Paul Carter recorded his third double-double of the season with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds, but host Illinois State built a double-digit lead mid-way through the second half and never looked back in a 53-43 win over the UIC men's basketball team at Redbird Arena Saturday night.

Carter was joined in double figures by senior guard Robo Kreps, who scored 13 points (6-13) to go along with three rebounds and three assists. The Redbirds were led by Austin Hill's 15 points, while Anthony Cousins (9) and Tony Lewis (8) combined to score 17.

The Flames (4-6) limited the Redbirds (7-3) to just a 36.7 percent shooting effort, marking the second-straight contest that UIC held its opponent to a single-game low effort in field goal percentage. Illinois State edged the Flames on the boards, 36-33, dropping UIC to 1-4 on the season when being out-rebounded by its opponent. The Redbirds' bench also out-scored UIC's reserves, 15-6.

"Illinois State does a good job being a physical team, trying to disrupt your offensive flow and trying to get your guys to make soft cuts," said UIC head coach Howard Moore. "Unfortunately, we did that (tonight). We didn't make the hard cuts in our offense, and we didn't touch the post like we talked about. Leading into the game, we really wanted to touch the post against their guards, and we didn't execute that plan.

"When Paul (Carter) picked up his second foul, it took us out of our regular rotation. Illinois State did a good job attacking the post, and got those fouls on our guys by getting the ball inside. They did what we wanted to do on the other end."

Illinois State scored the first four points of the game, before the Flames charged back with a 9-4 run to take a 9-8 lead at the 14:06 mark of the first half. UIC either held the lead, or trailed by no more than one point for the ensuing seven minutes, before Carter picked up his second personal foul with 7:21 remaining in the opening stanza.

When Carter headed to the bench, the game was tied, 14-14. Freshman guard Shawn King hit a jumper with 6:24 remaining in the half to give UIC an 18-16 lead, but ISU ended the half on an 11-2 spurt, taking a 27-18 lead into the locker room at intermission - Hill had four points during the stretch.

Carter scored on consecutive field goals just before the first media timeout of the second half, helping the Flames pull back within five (29-24) with 15:56 remaining. But UIC scored just four points in the ensuing 10:29, allowing the Redbirds to build their largest lead of the game (44-28) with 6:33 remaining.

The Flames made a run down the stretch, but were never able to get within single digits. Carter hit his second three of the game with 3:19 remaining to trim the deficit to 46-35, but Hill answered with a three-point field goal of his own on the other end. Kreps scored UIC's final six points on the game, twice bringing the Flames back within 10 points.

UIC will continue its road trip next Tuesday (Dec. 14), when the Flames travel to DeKalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois (7 p.m.). It will mark the Flames' fifth game against a Mid-American Conference opponent this season.