CHICAGO -- UIC will conclude a busy stretch of three games in five days on Saturday, Dec. 23, when the Flames host the Trinity Chistian College Trolls at the UIC Pavilion at 3 p.m. CT. It is the final non-conference game of the season for UIC and the only game in a 25-day span.

The Flames (4-8) dropped a pair of tough decisions on a two-game road trip this past week. Despite shooting 49 percent for the game, and 54.2 percent in the second half on Tuesday night, UIC was topped 71-70 at Illinois State Tuesday night. The Flames and Northern Illinois Huskies traded the lead 12 times Thursday night, including 10 times in the first half alone, but NIU prevailed, 69-63. The common denominator in both defeats was turnovers. The Flames committed an average of 18.5 turnovers in defeat, while ISU and NIU combined for only 16 in the two contests.

Sophomores Marcus Ottey and Jordan Blount provided bright spots on the brief road trip. Ottey averaged 20.0 points per game and shot 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the field in the two games. He also averaged 37.5 minutes per game for the Flames, while playing a career-high 38 minutes at Northern Illinois Thursday. Blount hauled in a career-high 11 rebounds at Illinois State before scoring a career-high 13 points with 10 more caroms at NIU. It was the first career double-double for the Cork, Ireland, native, and the first of the season for any UIC player.

SOPHOMORE STANDOUTS

• In 12 games, UIC has been led in the scoring department by four different sophomores.
• Six sophomores on the roster account for 75.5 percent of the team's scoring this season with 629 out of 833 total points.
• Marcus Ottey and Dominique Matthews have led the group four times apiece. The pair each scored a team-high 17 points in the UIC's last game at Northern Illinois on Thursday.
• Dikembe Dixson has paced the squad in the scoring column three times, while Godwin Boahen has led the bunch twice.

UNDERCLASS ACHIEVERS

• UIC is one of six NCAA programs to begin the season with three or fewer upperclassmen.
• The five other teams are: Kentucky (2), North Florida (2), Chattanooga (3), The Citadel (3) and George Mason (3).
• The Flames currently carry two seniors in Tai Odiase and Clint Robinson, and one junior in Naradain James.
• Head coach Steve McClain's roster of 12 features six sophomores and three freshmen.
• The underclassmen have played 78.6 percent (1,905-of-2,425) of the team's possible minutes this season.

BENCH BOOST

• UIC's leading scorer has come off the bench in six of team's 12 games, most recently at Illinois State on Tuesday night.
• UIC's bench is averaging 24.4 points per game through 12 contests with a scoring margin of +66 against the opposition's reserves.
• The team's second-leading scorer, Marcus Ottey, averages 12.3 points per game and has come off the bench all but twice this year.
• The second unit scored a season-low one point on Thursday at NIU. That tally came in the form of a free throw from Michael Diggins.
• The Flames played only three reserves at NIU.

DOUBLING DOWN

• Jordan Blount had the first double-double of his career, and of the season for UIC, with 13 points and 10 rebounds Thursday at NIU.
• UIC has three other active players with at least seven career double-doubles.
• Tai Odiase has 14 career double-doubles; Dikembe Dixson owns eight; Tarkus Ferguson tallied seven as a freshman last year.
• Ferguson did it with points and rebounds five times, points and assists once, and rebounds and assists once.

More notes, statistics and information can be found in the UIC Game Notes PDF that is linked above.