Box Score Jan. 8, 2016 Box Score
DETROIT, Mich. -- Freshman Dikembe Dixson led three UIC players in double figures Friday night, but it was not enough as the Flames fell to the Detroit Titans at Calihan Hall, 87-69.
Dixson netted a game-high 22 points, including 19 in the second half, while Najeal Young poured in a career-high 15 points. The duo hauled down seven rebounds apiece, while freshman Michael Kolawole also turned in a personal-best performance in the scoring column with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor in only 11 minutes of action for UIC.
The Flames were ultimately sunk by a slow start against the Titans. UIC's offense got out to a sluggish start at Calihan Hall Friday night. The Flames missed their first seven attempts from the field before Lance Whitaker broke the seal with a short jumper in the lane that came with 6:44 gone by in the ballgame. By the time the redshirt sophomore sank his team's first shot of the contest, the Titans had put together 14 unanswered points to open up a 17-4 advantage.
Detroit's first-half lead reached as many as 21 points on a pair of occasions, but a 10-2 run for the visiting team that featured offensive contributions from Dixson, Young, Drew Hackett and Markese McGuire helped slice the deficit to 13 points with 5:40 to go in the frame. It was also a 13-point game after McGuire buried a pair from the charity stripe with 3:30 to go before the break. The Titans closed on a 9-2 run, however, to take a 47-27 lead in to the locker room.
The Flames were limited to only nine field goals in the first half, while Detroit shot close to 47 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, plus 77.8 percent from the free-throw line with 14 conversions.
The iron proved to be much kinder to UIC in the second half as it shot the ball at a clip of 48 percent (12-of-25) in the final period. The Flames outscored the Titans in the second half, but the halftime deficit was too great to overcome and Detroit picked up its third consecutive victory in conference play, 87-69.
McGuire finished the night with a season-high nine points to go along with four rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal in a season-high 27 minutes. Tai Odiase was held scoreless for only the second time this season, but the sophomore center added five rebounds, a pair of blocks and a steal in 16 minutes of run.
UIC will continue its stay in the Great Lakes State with a game scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10 against the Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. The Flames and Golden Grizzlies will play each other in the first two scheduled meetings this season at the O'rena at 2 p.m. CST.
UIC Notes: UIC used its 11th different starting lineup in its 13th game of the season … Jake Wiegand made his first start since Dec. 5 at Central Florida … Tai Odiase and Dikembe Dixson have started all 13 games for UIC … Dixson led the Flames in scoring for the sixth time this season and he reached 20 points or more for the fourth time … He played at least 35 minutes for the sixth time this season and the fourth time in as many games … Odiase has blocked at least two shots nine times, including in four of the last five contests … UIC used at least six players off the bench for the 12th time in 13 games under Steve McClain … Detroit's 10 assists marked the second-lowest output against the Flames this season (Loyola, 9, 12/19) … UIC's field-goal percentage of 48 in the second half was its bet mark for 20 minutes since shooting 57.6 percent in the first half against Purdue Calumet on Dec. 22.
