CHICAGO -- UIC was held to a season-low 51 points Saturday afternoon as the Flames were stifled by the visiting Fort Wayne Mastodons at the UIC Pavilion, 67-51. It was the second game of the 2017 Adolph Rupp Classic for both squads.

The Flames (2-2) held the Mastodons (3-1) to 32.3 percent (21-for-65) from the floor for the game, but Fort Wayne shot 43.8 percent (14-for-32) in the second half with seven 3-pointers to emerge victorious. UIC couldn't get shots to fall on the other end as it shot only 26.8 percent (15-for-56) on the afternoon. Furthering troubling the Flames were a season-high 18 turnovers.

Marcus Ottey led UIC with 12 points off the bench as he became the fourth different player to lead the Flames in scoring in four games this season. Fort Wayne's Bryson Scott led all players with 19 points, including 16 in the second half.

Game Headlines

• Flames Bust Out Early: While both teams started slow on the offensive end, it was UIC that took an early five-point lead in the first four minutes. Layups from Tai Odiase and Dikembe Dixson sandwiched a 3-pointer from Tarkus Ferguson to give the Flames the early edge.
• Extend It Again: Fort Wayne was within three points when a quick 5-0 run doubled up the Mastodons, 16-8. Ottey hauled in a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup before grabbing a second board and feeding Michael Diggins for a corner 3-pointer that pushed the lead to eight points.
• Lid On The Rim: Following Diggins' first career triple, UIC couldn't buy a bucket. The Flames went 5:34 without scoring a point until Clint Robinson broke the drought with a hook shot in the paint that increased the lead to 18-15 with 5:10 remaining in the frame.
• Fort Wayne Finds The Lead: The Mastodons first tied the score with 3:04 remaining in the half after UIC was assessed a common and technical foul, resulting in three free throws that were all converted. Fort Wayne found its first lead with 1:57 to go when Jax Levitch drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
• Back To Even: The score was tied at 25-25 at the half after Fort Wayne missed a 3-point attempt and a putback at the buzzer was waved off upon official review.
• Flames Fall Behind: Odiase's dunk in traffic tied that game at 29 with almost five minutes gone by in the half, but a 15-4 run by the Mastodons over the next five minutes or so gave the visiting team a double-digit lead, 11 points, with 10:57 remaining
• Pressure Propels Defense: UIC began to employ a full-court pressure with Jordan Blount on the ball that helped chop the deficit down. The Flames were able to force a few mistakes and cut Fort Wayne's lead down to five with nine minutes to play on a floating layup off glass by Ottey.
• Mastodons Finish Off Flames: Fort Wayne went ahead by 10 points on a pair of free throws from John Konchar with 5:54 remaining. UIC would come no closer the rest of the way before falling, 67-51.

Highlights



Notables

• Ottey became the fourth different UIC player to lead the Flames in scoring in four games this season. All four are sophomores (Boahen vs. NCCU; Dixson vs. Saint Joseph's; Matthews vs. Delaware State).
• Ottey ranks second on the team with 12.3 points per game despite ranking sixth with an average of 22.3 minutes per ballgame.
• Diggins played a career-high 14 minutes and had a personal-best four rebounds against the Mastodons.
• Odiase hauled in a season-high 10 rebounds and fell two points shy of a double-double.
• Only three UIC players made multiple field goals in the loss. Ottey and Odiase had four apiece, while Tarkus Ferguson netted two.
• Robinson has made all 10 of his free throw attempts over UIC's last two games, including all four on Saturday.
• As a team, UIC shot 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the charity stripe against Fort Wayne.
• The Flames' bench outscored Fort Wayne's, 25-19.
• UIC fell to 2-1 all-time against Fort Wayne.
• Saturday marked the end of a busy season-opening stretch that featured four games in eight days at home. The Flames went 2-2 over that span.

Postgame Reaction





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Up Next

• UIC will host Olivet Nazarene in an exhibition game at the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
• The Flames resume the regular season and the Adolph Rupp Classic on Sunday, Nov. 26 at No. 7 Kentucky. It will be UIC's first matchup against an Associated Press top-25 team since the squad topped No. 12 Illinois, 57-54, on Dec. 18, 2010.
• Next Sunday's game, which tips at 5 p.m. CT, will be televised on the SEC Network.