Nov. 23, 2014
Final Stats: SIU 67, UIC 60
KENT, Ohio - The UIC men's basketball team (1-4) was defeated by Southern Illinois (2-3) in the final day of competition at the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic on Sunday by a final score of 67-60. Fifth-year transfer Jay Harris piloted the Flames with 19 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, while junior D'Juan Miller tallied a Division-I career-high with 16 points.
Despite facing a 21-point deficit, UIC continued to fight and eventually pulled to within seven points of the Salukis during the game's final seconds. The Flames outscored SIU in the final period, 39-32, after being down 14 points at halftime.
"Our first half needs to be at the same level as our second half," said head coach Howard Moore. "We have become a good second half team and now we need to put together a full 40 minutes of basketball."
The Salukis led wire-to-wire as they jumped out to a quick 21-5 lead by the 8:03 mark. Southern Illinois was superb from the field in the first half, hitting 13-of-23 (56.5%) and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from three-point range. SIU was paced by All-MVC guard Anthony Beane who poured in a game-high 27 points, including 19 in the final frame.
The Flames' defense intensified their pressure in the second half and forced 10 SIU turnovers, converting those miscues into 11 points. The Salukis committed 19 total turnovers on the day as UIC collected nine steals.
The Flames maintained their poise at the free throw line by going 16-of-18 (88.9%), while bettering their league-leading average to 82.3 percent. Eight separate UIC players are shooting above 80 percent from the charity stripe this season.
Freshman Tai Odiase continues to be one of the Horizon League's top rim protectors as he totaled three blocked shots today, bringing his season count to a team-high of 10.
Upon conclusion of the MABC Classic, junior Jake Wiegand was named to the All-Tournament team. Wiegand averaged 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds during the three games and shot 53.3 percent from the field.
UIC will next play St. Xavier at home on Tuesday night with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
