Box Score Dec. 29, 2015
CHICAGO -- UIC mounted a series of serious comebacks in the second half Tuesday, but the Flames were unable to climb all the way back as the visiting Northern Illinois Huskies escaped town with a 70-65 victory.
Dikembe Dixson, the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Week, poured in a career-high 28 points on 8-of-16 from the floor, while veterans Tai Odiase and Jake Wiegand were also in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
UIC trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before methodically breaking down the NIU defense to get back into the game. The Huskies later led by 12 with 15:07 to go at the UIC Pavilion before a 12-2 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Michael Kolawole made it a two-point game with a shade under 12 minutes remaining.
Northern Illinois answered with nine-point run of its own to set the lead at 11 with 9:25 left, but the Flames would not relent. The home team trimmed its deficit to five on multiple occasions down the stretch before finally converting it to a one-possession game with 58 seconds to go when Dixson drilled his lone triple of the night to make it 63-60. The Huskies made good on four consecutive free throws to take a seven-point lead before Odiase knifed inside and scored with 17 ticks left. NIU continued to score at the free-throw line before Hassan Thomas broke into the scoring column with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2.1 seconds to go to pull his team to within four. That was as close as the Flames could come, however.
The second half was much more consistent for UIC. After shooting only 32 percent in the first 20 minutes, and 1-of-8 to start the second half, the Flames closed by shooting 55 percent (11-of-20) the rest of the way as the continuously closed the gap. The ball movement was on point as the squad registered 12 assists in the second half after accumulating only six in the first. UIC had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio in the second half. Lance Whitaker was a driving force behind the turnaround as he handed out a career-high seven helpers in 14 minutes of second-half action.
UIC's was unable to develop a consistent offensive rhythm in the first half as the Flames converted only eight of their 25 attempts from the field, while committing 11 turnovers. For comparison's sake, the squad had a season-low eight miscues last time out versus Purdue Calumet (Dec. 22). Further, the home team struggled at the charity stripe, making only six of 12 free throws in the first half.
Northern Illinois, on the other end, converted at a 50-percent clip in the first half, making 14 of its 28 efforts from the field. The Huskies scored nearly half their points from downtown in the first half, netting 15 points on five 3-pointers. NIU sank its first five efforts from beyond the arc before missing on its last two attempts of the half. All of that helped the visiting team take a 33-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
Not only did Whitaker lead the team with seven assists, but he also posted a team-high six rebounds to match a season high. Wiegand's 10 points off the bench were the most he scored since netting 11 at Drake on Nov. 28. Kolawole finished with seven points and a career-high five rebounds in 22 minutes Tuesday.
The Flames will ring in 2016 with a three-game road trip that first takes them to Valparaiso on Saturday, Jan. 2. UIC will meet the defending Horizon League champion Crusaders at 1 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the American Sports Network. Locally the game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and it will also be streamed via ESPN3. Catch the radio call on ESPN1000 Chicago with Jonathan Hood, Kenny Williams and Chris Bleck.
UIC Layups: UIC started Paris Burns, Dominique Matthews, Dikembe Dixson, Lance Whitaker and Tai Odiase for the third time in four games ... It is the only starting lineup to be used more than once this season ... UIC used at least seven players off the bench for the 10th time in 11 games under Steve McClain ... Dixson's 28 points are the most by a Horizon League newcomer this season ... He has led the team in scoring five times in 11 games ... His 11 made free throws were the most for any player in the Steve McClain era ... Dixson matched a career high with three steals in the second straight game ... UIC shot 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free-throw line in the second half after making only half its attempts in the first ... Odiase, a 53.5-percent FT shooter on the season, went 5-for-5 in the game ... His 13 points were the most since scoring a career-high 23 vs. Roosevelt on Nov. 24.
