Nov. 17, 2014
Final Stats: UIC 67, WIU 64
CHICAGO - In front of more than 5,550 fans, the UIC men's basketball team (1-1) claimed a 67-64 victory against in-state rival Western Illinois (0-2) on Monday night in its home opener at the UIC Pavilion. Junior Jake Wiegand was a force as he posted a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds, his second straight double-double on the season. The Flames now improve to 27-7 in home openers since turning Division I.
The last UIC Flame to record more than 28 points and 11 rebounds was current assistant coach Jeremy Buttell who put up 31 points and 12 boards on Jan. 7, 2010, at Youngstown State. Wiegand is now averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds on the season. His nine made field goals and nine made free throws also set new career-bests for the 6-foot-8 power forward.
"Tonight was a terrific team win," said head coach Howard Moore. "Jake was a beast for us today, but everybody found a way to contribute. We still have many areas where we can improve, but I am pleased with the effort our guys gave tonight. Winning at home is something we are taking very seriously this season and I'm glad we could give the fans a victory tonight."
Junior Paris Burns posted 13 points for his second straight double-digit scoring performance. He also grabbed five rebounds, shot 7-of-9 from the foul line and notched three steals.
Freshman Tai Odiase made his presence known in the post with nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Odiase is the first UIC player to collect four or more blocks since Josh Crittle on Feb. 23, 2013. Odiase also added six points and two assists on the night.
Senior Marc Brown chipped in nine points, while D'Juan Miller dished out a team-high six assists.
Western Illinois jumped out to an early lead, but back-to-back threes by junior Gabe Snider gave UIC a 17-15 edge at the 11:16 mark in the first half. The Flames owned a five-point lead with 4:06 left in the opening period, but WIU scored 10 of the final 15 points in the frame to knot the tally at 35-35.
Junior J.C. Fuller paced the Leathernecks at the break with 12 points as he finished the night with a team-high 14. Wiegand had amassed 16 points by halftime, which was one point shy of his previous career-high of 17.
WIU held the advantage early in the second half and built a five-point edge with 14:19 left to play. The Flames responded with an 11-2 run over the next five and a half minutes, reclaiming the lead for good.
UIC extended its lead out to nine points with just under four minutes left in the game, but WIU did not go quietly as they went on a 12-4 run and cut the Flames' advantage to one point (65-64) with 20 seconds remaining.
After a foul by WIU, Miller sank a pair of free throws with 13 seconds on the clock to put UIC in front by three. The Leathernecks attempted a game-tying triple with two seconds on the clcok that fell short.
The Flames were successful in getting to the free throw line as they shot 24-of-29 (82.8%) compared to 7-of-10 (70.0%) for Western Illinois. UIC out-scored WIU in the paint, 30-20, and won the rebounding battle for the second straight game by a margin of 41-37.
The UIC win improves its record to 10-1 against the Leathernecks in their last 11 meetings.
The Flames to return action on Friday at 4 p.m. against Yale as UIC will take part in the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic hosted by Kent State.
