TROY, Ala. – Playing the second game of a three-game road trip, UIC was hampered by a season-high 21 turnovers for the second time in as many contests and Troy took advantage to post an 87-66 victory Wednesday night at Trojan Arena.
 
UIC turned the ball over 21 times and the Trojans took full advantage by converting those miscues into 29 points. On the flip side, Troy turned it over 17 times, but the Flames scored only 11 points off the mistakes and nine of those came in the second half.
 
Wesley Person did the bulk of the heavy offensive lifting for the Trojans. The sharpshooter poured in a game-high 27 points and made 5-of-10 shots from beyond the arc. Three UIC players scored in double figures Wednesday, led by Dominique Matthews and his 14 points.

Game Headlines

• Bombs Away: Troy let it fly from beyond the arc in the early going. The Trojans received four 3-pointers in the first 7:29 of the game to rush out to a 20-6 lead. Three of the four triples came after UIC turnovers. Kevin Baker had two 3-pointers in the early going, while Person and Shawn Hopkins each had one.
• Making Mistakes Count: Troy was the beneficiary of 12 UIC turnovers in the first entire first half and they capitalized with 19 points off the mistakes in the first 20 minutes. As it would turn out, the Trojans led the Flames by 19 points at the break, 39-20.
• Person Picks Up Slack: Troy played its second consecutive game without leading scorer Jordon Varnado, but Person made sure the Trojans did not skip a beat. He netted 18 points in the first half alone while making a trio of 3-pointers and getting to the free throw line six times, and making five. He finished the game with 27 points on 7-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown. Person also converted 8-of-9 attempts from the stripe.
• Too Little, Too Late: The Flames trailed by as many as 29 points in the second half, but steadily chopped that deficit in half. UIC went on a 14-4 run that began with a Marcus Ottey free throw and ended on an alley-oop slammed home by Jacob Wiley off a feed from Godwin Boahen with 1:38 remaining. That made the score 81-66 before the Trojans closed the game on a short 6-0 run.

Notables

• Matthews became the second UIC player to lead the Flames in scoring in multiple games this season. After tallying a game-high 19 points against Delaware State on Nov. 16, he paced the squad with 14 at Troy. In both contests, the sophomore sank four 3-pointers.
• Ottey, a sophomore, made his first start of the season and 10^th of his career. With Ottey's inclusion, tonight's starting lineup was the third different combination utilized by head coach Steve McClain in six games this season.
• Senior Tai Odiase played his 100^th career game in a UIC uniform Wednesday. He has played 87 consecutive games for the Flames and made 76 straight starts dating back to Feb. 28, 2015 vs. Wright State.
• Odiase was credited with one blocked shot to bring his career total to 261. He trails former UIC standout Scott VanderMeer by 12 rejections for the top spot in program history. The center has swatted away at least one shot in 18 of UIC's last 19 games.
• The Flames were awarded only two free throws in the first half, splitting the pair. UIC was much more aggressive in getting to the rim in the second half, resulting in 14 more attempts from the stripe. For the game, the Flames shot 75 percent (12-of-16) from the line, while Troy shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23).
• UIC's bench was outscored for only the second time in six games this season. The reserves netted 29 points, while Troy's second unit scored 32. Matthews' 14 points led the Flames, while Godwin Boahen added seven points, three assists and three steals.
• Person's 27 points and five 3-pointers were each the most for any opposing player this season.
• The Flames finished with a 1-3 record in the Adolph Rupp Classic.

Up Next

• UIC will play the final game of a three-game road trip on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Loyola Chicago.
• The Ramblers opened the season with seven consecutive wins, including one over Horizon League foe Wright State, before falling for the first time at Boise State on Tuesday night.
• Saturday's game, which tips off at 3 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago. Andy Masur and Jeff Dickerson will be on the call.