Box Score Jan. 24, 2016
DAYTON, Ohio -- UIC freshman Dikembe Dixson dumped in a career-high 29 points to lead all players Sunday, but the Flames were sunk by the Wright State Raiders at the Nutter Center, 80-66.
Sunday marked the seventh time this season that the Freeport, Ill., native poured in 20 points or more, and it was the 11th time in 19 games that Dixson paced the Flames in the scoring column. He also hauled in nine rebounds to lead all players in the contest as he narrowly missed out on his fourth double-double of the season, and the second in as many games.
UIC came out firing to start the game. The Flames nailed seven of their first eight attempts from the field, shooting 77.8 percent over the game's first 7:37 to build a six-point lead. The iron was less kind the rest of the way, however, as UIC converted only three of its final 17 attempts from the floor in the first half. Meanwhile, Wright State converted at a clip of 61.5 percent (16-of-26), and it scored nine points off eight turnovers by the Flames to take a 44-32 lead into the locker room at the break.
In the early stages of the second half used a 10-5 run to slice its deficit down to seven points with a shade under 16 minutes remaining in the contest. Wright State's Mark Alstork countered with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to balloon the lead back double digits. Dixson scored on back-to-back trips for the Flames to get back to within nine, but unfortunately that was as close as the visiting team could get for the rest of the afternoon.
For the game the Flames shot 41.5 percent, but the team made only two of its 12 3-point attempts. Wright State shot over 53 percent from the field and close to 43 percent from beyond the arc in victory. The Raiders' mark of 53.7 percent was the best of any Horizon League foe this season.
In addition to Dixson, Tai Odiase scored in double figures for UIC with 13 points. Michael Kolawole, who made his third career start for the Flames, was the team's second-leading rebounder with a personal-best seven boards. The Rowlett, Texas, native added six points as he played a career-high 38 minutes.
Alstork scored 19 points and corralled nine rebounds to lead the Raiders. Three other WSU players joined him in double figures.
UIC will return to the Windy City to begin a five-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 28, when the Youngstown State Penguins visit the UIC Pavilion at 7 p.m. Make plans to cheer on the home team; tickets are available for all remaining home games and can be obtained by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421) or visiting Ticketmaster today.
UIC Notes: UIC started the game with Dikembe Dixson, Michael Kolawole, Tai Odiase, Lance Whitaker and Najeal Young, marking the third time this season, and second consecutive outing, that head coach Steve McClain has opened with that group ... Dixson and Odiase have each started all 19 games ... Dixson hauled in a career-high four offensive rebounds and matched a career high with 11 points from the free-throw line ... He played at least 40 minutes for the third time in his young career ... Odiase was unable to block a shot for only the third time this season ... Julian Torres registered the only rejection for the Flames ... UIC outscored Wright State in the paint, 34-28 overall, and 20-10 in the second half ... The Flames will play seven of their next eight games at the UIC Pavilion.
