Box Score Dec. 2, 2015 Box Score
CHICAGO -- DePaul got off to a quick start at the UIC Pavilion Wednesday night and the Blue Demons never looked back as they knocked off the UIC Flames in a crosstown nonconference matchup, 82-55.
DePaul shot 46.8 percent in the game, while holding the Flames to a mark below 37 percent. UIC was also plagued by 21 turnovers, which the Blue Demons turned into 23 points. The visitors also controlled the paint throughout the night, scoring 38 points to only 16 for the Flames in that area.
The Blue Demons (3-3) scored 11 of the game's first 13 points with UIC's lone bucket coming when freshman Dikembe Dixson put down a tomahawk jam on an offensive rebound. The Flames slowly chipped away and they got the deficit down to four points at the 11:17 mark of the first half when Lance Whitaker sank a long jumper.
The miscues persisted, however, and a bit over five minutes later DePaul had established a 20-point cushion, 31-11, with 6:01 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the Flames were unable to come any closer for the remainder of the evening.
UIC developed a more consistent offensive attack in the second half, shooting 42.9 percent in the final 20 minutes. An 8-0 run featuring five points from Dominique Matthews and a pair of free throws from Julian Torres helped trim a 28-point lead in less than three minutes, but the Flames were able to slow down the Blue Demons
One of the offensive bright spots for UIC was Matthews. Making his second career start, the Chicagoan paced the UIC attack with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. He buried a couple of three pointers, corralled five rebounds and added one of his team's six steals.
DePaul had five players score in double figures, led by Myke Henry, who matched Matthews with 17 points. Tommy Hamilton earned a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench for head coach Dave Leitao.
Dikembe Dixson chipped in with nine points for the Flames, while Najeal Young supplied a spark off the bench with five points and a team-high six rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
The Flames will head out of town this weekend to visit the Central Florida Knights in Orlando on Saturday evening. UIC knocked off UCF at the Pavilion last season, 71-60, on Dec. 11, 2014. Jake Wiegand scored 12 points and added seven rebounds for the Flames that night.
UIC Notes: UIC has used five different starting lineups through five games ... Wednesday's iteration featured four true freshmen and a sophomore ... Dikembe Dixson and Tai Odiase have started all five games for the Flames ... Dominique Matthews scored a career-high 17 points ... DePaul was the first bench to outscore UIC this season, 26-22 ... UIC's leading scorer entering the game, Odiase, was held without a field goal until there were under two minutes to play ... UIC is 1-2 against teams from Illinois this season ... A season-high 13 players saw the floor Wednesday ... Twelve of the 13 players had at least one rebound ... The Flames dropped to 1-2 at the UIC Pavilion.
