CHICAGO – In a memorable game between rivals separated by only four miles, UIC traveled to Lincoln Park on Wednesday night and the Flames returned to the near west side with a thrilling 80-75 triumph over the DePaul Blue Demons.
 
The contest featured 14 tie scored and 15 lead changes, but when UIC (5-5) took the lead on a cold-blooded 3-point shot from the right corner by Kyle Guice with 56 seconds to play, it never gave it up again. The victory was sealed with 5.9 seconds to go when DePaul (5-4) had to inbound the ball from the baseline trailing by three. The Flames put 6-foot-9-inch center Tai Odiase and his 7-feet-4-inch wingspan on the ball and DePaul's R.J. Currington was unable to get it through his outstretched arms. Odiase gained possession and drew a foul. The team captain calmly went to the other end and sank both free throws to finish off the triumph.
 
How It Happened

• DePaul led by eight points, 59-51, with 9:19 remaining in the game, but a 3-pointer from Guice off a feed from Michael Kolawole on the next possession kick-started the comeback and a 10-0 run.
• Down by one after Clint Robinson dunked hard on the Blue Demons, the Flames forced an errant 3-point attempt by DePaul's Eli Cain and Kolawole corralled the rebound. The UIC sophomore pushed the ball ahead and found Marcus Ottey who twisted himself through the trees to lay the ball in the basket with just under seven minutes remaining. He was fouled on the play and made his free throw, giving UIC a 61-59 lead and its first edge since it was 24-22 with 7:35 remaining in the first half.
• The teams went back and forth with neither one grabbing a lead of more than two points until Guice's dagger with under a minute to play.
• Tarkus Ferguson put the Flames up by four points with 37.4 seconds left in the game, but DePaul's Billy Garrett made two of his 12 free throws at the other end to get it back to a one-possession game.
• UIC turned the ball back over to DePaul after Garrett's conversions, but the Blue Demon missed a layup and Ottey came down with the rebound. He drew a foul and made one-of-two from the line.
• The Flames kicked it up an extra notch on defense in the final seconds, forcing a pair of misses from in close before Odiase's big steal.
• To start the game, Odiase won the opening tip for his team and the center opened the scoring with a basket in the paint off a feed from Godwin Boahen.
• DePaul soon went ahead, 10-5, before a quick six-point run put the visiting team ahead, 11-10, with 13:33 to go.
• The Flames eventually pushed the lead to a half-high six points, at 24-18, with key contributions from Kolawole and freshman Tarkus Ferguson.
• Next it was DePaul's turn for a lengthy surge. The Blue Demons tallied nine unanswered points before Boahen canned a triple from the right corner to squash the run and tie the game at 27 points apiece.
• The Flames could not regain the lead in the first half however. DePaul pushed its lead up to as many as eight points on three occasions, and the Blue Demons led by that margin at the break, 43-35.

Beyond The Box Score

• UIC turned in a terrific defensive effort in the second half. After DePaul shot DePaul shot an eye-popping 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the first half, the Flames held the Demons to a mark of 30 percent (9-of-30) over the final 20 minutes.
• The Flames outscored the Blue Demons in the second half, 45-32. In 10 games this season, the Flames have outscored the opposition by a combined 39 points.
• The high-flying Flames reached at least 80 points for the seventh time in 10 games this season after hitting that mark only four times in 30 games during the 2015-16 slate.
• UIC's bench outscored DePaul's reserves, 37-7. Guice (14) and Ottey (11) combined for 67.6 percent of the team's output. As a group, the Flames are averaging 23.6 points per game off the bench this season.
• Joining Guice and Ottey in double figures in the scoring column were Odiase and Ferguson, who netted 12 points apiece.
• Guice scored a season-high 14 points in 20 minutes. The Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, native reached double digits for the first time since the season opener at San Francisco (11).
• For the third time this season, Ferguson dished out five assists without a turnover. The other such efforts came on Nov. 19 vs. Trinity Christian and on Dec. 4 vs. Eastern Illinois. He also matched a career high with six rebounds at DePaul.
• Wednesday's game marked the first time this season that the Flames won despite trailing at the half. UIC led the opposition at the break in all four wins prior to the contest at DePaul.
• This is UIC's first win against the Blue Demons since Dec. 15, 2007. That game was also played away from the UIC Pavilion.
• The Flames moved to 3-2 against in-state foes this season with victories against Trinity Christian, Chicago State and DePaul. UIC will play two more Illinois-based squads this season in Loyola (Dec. 17) and Roosevelt (Dec. 22).
• UIC is now 4-1 following a loss this season.
• Eli Cain led all scorers with 18 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers. The Blue Demon had only nine points in the second half and finished 11-of-20. Cain and Garrett combined to score more than 70 percent of DePaul's total.

What's Next?

• UIC will return to the UIC Pavilion Saturday, when it will begin a six-game home stand against another crosstown foe, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (9-2) at 3 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 312-413-UIC1 or visiting the online box office at UICFlames.com.
• The Flames and Ramblers have faced off 53 times on the hardwood dating back to 1947, and 51 times in UIC's Division I era (since 1981-82).
• The Flames hold the edge in the all-time series, 30-23, however the Ramblers have won the last four meetings dating back to Feb. 16, 2013, when Loyola was a member of the Horizon League.
• The Ramblers, with nine wins in 11 games, are ranked 17^th in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major top 25 poll. Loyola also received a vote in the Associate Press top 25 poll that was released Monday.