CHICAGO -- UIC shot nearly 50 percent from the field and matched a season low with 11 turnovers Friday night as the Flames knocked off the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5) at the UIC Pavilion, 76-60.

Three Flames (4-6) scored in double figures, led by Dikembe Dixson's game-high 19 points. Dominique Matthews added 18, with three 3-pointers, marking his sixth consecutive game in double figures. Marcus Ottey came off the bench to net 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Another sophomore, Jordan Blount posted career highs in assists (10) and steals (4) for the Flames.

The Big Green (3-5) shot only 37.5 percent (18-of-48) from the field Friday, and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) as UIC pulled away in the second half.

Game Headlines

• Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho: It's back and forth we went. The Flames and Big Green went back and forth with the lead throughout much of the first half. Dartmouth went up by as many as six points in the first four minutes, but UIC chipped away and eventually gained a one-point lead on Jacob Wiley's mid-range jumper with 9:31 remaining in the period.
• Once and For All: The home team snatched the lead for good with 1:41 remaining in the first half. Matthews rebounded his own miss and drew a foul before splitting a pair of free throws to put UIC in front, 29-28, in the final two minutes. On the next Flames possession, Dixson found Clint Robinson in the paint for a short jumper that pushed the lead to 31-28, where it would remain at the break.
• Second-Half Surge: UIC scored seven points in 2:01 (five from Dixson, two from Robinson) to push the lead to nine points. The Big Green responded to the punch by rattling off a 10-2 run that cut their deficit to one with 14:57 remaining in the game.
• Slow and Steady: The Flames methodically increased their lead back to double digits by using their own 11-2 run that covered the next four and half minutes. Five different UIC players scored during the burst that culminated with a steal by Matthews and layup from Dixson to make it 51-41 with 9:40 to go.
• Clicking On All Cylinders: Over a stretch of just over five minutes, UIC scored points on 10 consecutive possessions, with the first nine coming on shots from the floor. Dixson, Matthews, Ottey and Tai Odiase all got involved to push the lead all the way up to a game-high 21 points with just 1:34 left on the clock. Dartmouth would score the game's final five points, but it fell, 76-60.

Highlights



Notables

• For the fourth time this season, and the third time in the last four games, every UIC player that participated scored at least one point. In all four such games, head coach Steve McClain has used nine players.
• In four wins this season, UIC's average margin of victory is 23.5 points. The Flames have not won a game by fewer than 10 points all season.
• Jordan Blount dished out a career-high 10 assists, nine of which came in the second half. The sophomore had only two turnovers in the victory, both of which came in the first half. The 10 helpers mark the most for a UIC player in a game this season, and the most overall since Tarkus Ferguson tallied 12 against George Washington in the CBI on March 20, 2017.
• The Flames had their best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season at 1.64. UIC's 18 assists were the second-most this season (19 vs. Delaware State) and the 11 turnovers tied for the lowest number all year (Wisconsin-Parkside). Against both UW-Parkside and Dartmouth, UIC purposefully took a shot-clock violation in the waning seconds, which counts as a team turnover.
• UIC's bench outscored Dartmouth's, 25-5. The Flames were led in that category with 13 points from Marcus Ottey and seven from Clint Robinson. The reserves are averaging 26.3 points per game with a margin of +6.7 over the opposition.
• After being outrebounded in six of the first seven games, UIC has won the battle on the glass in three consecutive contests after posting a 36-30 win in that area Friday. Over those last three outings, the Flames have a combined rebounding margin of +22.
• Dikembe Dixson shot 50 percent (6-of-12) in the second half en route to a game-high 19 points. It was the third time this season that he led the Flames in scoring and the 41^st double-digit effort of his career in 50 games.
• To go along with 18 points, Matthews blocked a career-high two shots. UIC finished with six as a team, marking the ninth time in 10 games that it has rejected at least six shots.
• Dartmouth scored 15 points off nine UIC turnovers in the first half, but only one point off two miscues over the final 20 minutes.
• The Big Green made seven 3-pointers Friday, but only one in the second half. As a team, they shot 33.3 percent (7-of-21) in the final period.

Postgame Reaction





Up Next

• UIC takes a two-game road trip without having to leave the state of Illinois this week. The Flames will travel down to Normal to face Illinois State on Tuesday, Dec. 19, before heading to DeKalb to meet Northern Illinois on Thursday, Dec. 21.
•  Tuesday's game at ISU can be seen on NBC Sports Chicago. Thursday's game against NIU will be carried on ESPN3.
• Nonconference play concludes at home on Saturday, Dec. 23 against Trinity Christian. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. CT.