Jan. 14, 2015
Final Stats: UDM 69, UIC 68
CHICAGO - The UIC men's basketball team (5-14, 1-3 HL) suffered a heartbreaking defeat at home on Wednesday night against Detroit (9-9, 3-1) by a final score of 69-68. The Flames held a one-point lead with less than three seconds left to play, but a loose ball foul called on UIC sent Detroit to the foul line where the Titans sank both shots and completed the rally. Fifth-year senior Jay Harris scored a game-high 22 points and dished out a career-best eight assists.
The Flames led for nearly 29 minutes tonight, including the entire second half except for the final two seconds. UIC grabbed its largest lead of the game with 16:47 left to play after the Flames had executed an 8-2 run to start the final frame. During the run, junior Jake Wiegand netted three buckets in three minutes as he ended the night with 14 points and six rebounds. The forward also shot 7-of-9 from the field.
UIC comfortably stayed in front of Detroit until the Titans went on an 11-4 spurt to knot the score at 63-63 with 2:36 on the clock. With 1:44 remaining, Harris sank a triple from the wing to put the Flames back in front by three (66-63). UIC stayed ahead by three after both teams converted two foul shots over the next minute.
The Flames had the ball with 41 seconds left to play and then committed a turnover with one second remaining on the shot clock which led to a Detroit dunk by Chris Jenkins, cutting UIC's lead down to one (68-67).
UIC was then set to in-bound the ball with 3.7 seconds on the clock. A hail mary pass by the Flames ended with a foul called on redshirt freshman Lance Whitaker and Detroit's Jarod Williams sank both free throws to give the Titans their first lead of the half (69-68). UIC's D'Juan Miller attempted a half court buzzer-beater that clanked off the backboard and rim.
The Flames actually found themselves in a 12-2 hole to start the contest but a 14-3 run brought UIC back into the game. They led 40-33 at halftime and shot a season-best 60.9 percent in the first half.
Senior Marc Brown reached 900 career points tonight as he totaled seven points and eight rebounds. Fellow senior Ahman Fells recorded a career-high four steals and contributed seven points and four boards.
UIC returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 20) at Green Bay. The Phoenix are currently in first place with a 3-0 Horizon League record an overall mark of 14-3.
