DeKALB, Ill. – UIC  heated up in the second half, but its deficit was too large to overcome as the Flames fell to the Elon Phoenix in the first game of the NIU Thanksgiving Classic at the Convocation Center, 91-80.
 
The Flames shot 61.3 percent (19-of-31) in the final 20 minutes against the Phoenix, but only 30.3 percent in the first half as they dropped their second contest of the season.
 
Sophomore Dikembe Dixson was sensational oncce again for UIC. After opening the game by making only one of his first six attempts from the field, the Julius Erving Watch List member made 12-of-15 from the floor the rest of the way to finish with a season-high 32 points. He also led all players in the game with 10 rebounds as he notched his first double-double of the season.
 
Elon, which entered play ranked in the NCAA's top 30 in field-goal percentage, shot 50 percent or better in each half Friday night and 51.6 percent for the game. Dainan Swoope came off the bench to pace the Phoenix with 26 points in 23 minutes.
 
How It Happened

• The Flames made only one of their first seven attempts from the floor over the first 3:20 and Elon picked up an early 7-4 lead. The squad's first field goal came on a nice alley-oop feed from Tarkus Ferguson that Tai Odiase slammed home.
• A prolonged scoring drought from the field stretched over four minutes as the Phoenix built a 25-11 advantage with 9:02 to go in the first half. Freshman K.J. Santos finally quelled the surge when he slammed home an offensive rebound on a pretty tip dunk off a rare miss from Dixson.
• Elon pushed the lead to as many as 16 points in the first half. UIC cut its deficit to 12 with 3:10 remaining in the half when Dixson came up with a steal and a dunk, and again with 1:01 to go when he converted a mid-range jumper.
• The Phoenix led by 13 at the half, 44-31.
• Just over two minutes into the second half, Dixson scored a layup off a steal from Odiase to trim the deficit to 10 points, 47-37.
• Over the next 3:13, however Elon pushed the lead up to 20 by using a 12-2 run.
• The Flames continued to hang tough and chip away. When Odiase created an extra possession with an offensive rebound, Ferguson was able to score at the rim to get UIC to within 12 with 2:56 remaining.
• After a steal and layup from sophomore Michael Kolawole with 48 seconds to go, Elon's lead was down to 11, but that was as close as the Flames could come Friday.

Beyond The Box Score

• Dixson scored at least 30 points for the second time in three games and the fourth time in 34 collegiate contests.
• Dixson also hauled in a season-high 10 rebounds to secure his first double-double of the campaign. As a freshman a year ago, the Matewan, W. Va., native led the team with seven such efforts.
• Dixson entered play leading the Horizon League with 2.7 steals per game and he picked up three more against the Phoenix.
• Freshman Marcus Ottey has scored in double figures in his last three games after finishing Friday's game with 11 points.
• It was the second time this season that UIC trailed after 20 minutes of play. The Flames were behind by 11 points in San Francisco on Nov. 11, and they trailed by as many as 17 in the second half of the game before tying it on multiple occasions down the stretch.
• Elon became the first team to out-rebound UIC this season, winning the battle on the boards by seven.
• UIC's 31 points in the first half marked the lowest output for any single half this season.
• The Flames committed a season-low 12 turnovers Friday.
• UIC is shooting 61 percent (36-for-59) in the second half of its last two games.
• UIC started the same lineup of Odiase, Dixson, Ottey, Ferguson and Santos for the fourth consecutive game.
• The Flames are 1-1 when playing on Wednesday this season.

What's Next?

• UIC will continue the NIU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday afternoon when it matches up against Cal Poly for the first time in program history.
• The Mustangs enter the NIU Thanksgiving Classic with a record of 2-2 on the young season. Cal Poly drew NIU in the tournament opener Wednesday night.
• The game is set to tip at 3:30 p.m. CT.
• The contest will be streamed live on UICFlames.com with Jonathan Hood and Chris Bleck providing the play-by-play and analysis. The pregame show will begin at approximately 3:20 p.m.