March 5, 2016
DETROIT -- One year after UIC knocked Wright State out of the Horizon League men's basketball championship, the Raiders returned the favor by defeating the Flames, 74-43, in a first-round game at historic Joe Louis Arena late Saturday afternoon.
UIC struggled through one of its worst offensive outings of the season Saturday in the first round of the Little Caesar's Horizon League men's basketball championsip. The Flames shot a season-low 22.6 percent from the field, while making only two attempts from 3-point range. The squad was held to a season-low 43 points. One positive to take away was that UIC shot 81 percent from the free-throw line with 17 conversions, marking only the second time this season that head coach Steve McClain's bunch eclipsed the 80-percent mark from the charity stripe.
On the flip side, Wright State seemingly couldn't miss. The Raiders shot 42.6 percent from the field, and an even better 50 percent (14-of-28) from downtown.
UIC scored the game's first four points, but an 8-0 responsive run by the Raiders put them ahead for good. Wright State was able to build a 17-point lead at the break thanks in large part to six first-half 3-pointers. The Raiders converted just under 43 percent of their attempts from downtown in the first 20 minutes, while the Flames went just 1-for-8 with the lone make coming on a long-distance effort from Markese McGuire.
Between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, UIC endured a stretch of over nine minutes without converting a field goal. McGuire's deep triple came with 4:15 to go in the opening period and it trimmed the Wright State lead to six points. JT Yoho came down on the other end and hit a 3-pointer of his own that sparked an 8-0 Raiders' run to end the half.
Dikembe Dixson converted a pair of free throws in the early going of the second half for UIC, but it was not until his jumper with 15:02 to go that the Flames would hit from the field. By the time his bucket came, Wright State had expanded its lead to more than 20 points.
The Horizon League Freshman of the Year and All-Horizon League selection, Dixson, registered his team-high seventh double-double of the season behind a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. The newcomer had 10 of his points come at the free-throw line, and he helped out defensively with a team-high three steals. The Freeport, Ill., native was the only member of his team to reach double figures in both scoring and rebounding, though Michael Kolawole finished with eight points. Horizon League All-Defensive Team honoree Tai Odiase grabbed nine rebounds and added four blocked shots.
UIC Notes: UIC started the game with Dikembe Dixson, Michael Kolawole, Tai Odiase, Lance Whitaker and Najeal Young, marking the 14th time this season, and 13th consecutive outing, that head coach Steve McClain has opened with that group ... It was the most-frequently used grouping of the season ... Dixson and Odiase each started all 30 games ... UIC's 17 first-half points marked the fewest in a half this season ... The Flames moved to 19-20 all-time at the Horizon League men's basketball championship ... UIC is 2-2 all-time against Wright State in postseason play ... Dixson led the Flames with seven double-doubles this season, five of which came against Horizon League foes ... The Freeport, Ill., native also scored 26 points and added 12 rebounds vs. the Raiders on Feb. 11 at the UIC Pavilion.
