CHICAGO --  In a game that saw both sides compete with long, energetic runs, UIC came up short in the final home game of the 2016-17 regular season, falling 87-79 to Green Bay.
 
Junior Tai Odiase recorded a double-double in a second consecutive game as he scored a team-high 16 points and led the Flames with 12 rebounds. He also blocked six shots in 30 minutes. Four other Flames scored in double figures, while freshman Tarkus Ferguson narrowly missed out on a triple-double as he accumulated 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
 
The Flames (14-15, 7-9 Horizon League) led by seven points at the break after closing the first half on an emphatic 16-3 run over the last 5:12. Green Bay (17-11, 11-5 Horizon League) began the second half by hitting a flurry of 3-point shots, four in the first 2:50 to chip away and eventually secure a 46-45 lead.
 
The Phoenix pushed the lead up to 12 points with 10:10 to go, but UIC would not go away quietly. An 11-3 that featured a soaring tomahawk jam and 3-pointer from Marcus Ottey in successive possessions made it a four-point game with 7:28 to go. That was as close as the Flames would come.
 
 How It Happened

• UIC picked up where it left off Sunday form 3-point range, making two of its first three attempts from beyond the arc. The second, from Ferguson, gave the Flames an early one-point lead less than two minutes into the game.
• Green Bay went out in front on the next possession and the Phoenix pushed the lead to as many as seven points at just about the midway point of the period.
• The Flames were behind by six points with 5:28 when Dominique Matthews sank a jumper that sparked an 11-0 run over the next 3:10 that ballooned the led to five with 2:18 left in the first half.
• K.J. Santos' two-handed dunk off a missed UIC layup nearly blew the roof off the building with just over 40 seconds left in the half, and it also provided the Flames with a nine-point lead, their largest of the night.
• Green Bay's Jamar Hurdle put back his own miss with 22 seconds to go, so UIC led at the break, 38-31.
• The Phoenix made only two 3-pointers over the opening 20 minutes, but they let it fly early and often in the second half. Warren Jones made a 3-pointer on Green Bay's first possession, which began a streak of four consecutive long-distance shots he would make over the opening 2:50. He was fouled on his fifth attempt less than 30 seconds later and Jones made all three free throws to give his team a 46-45 lead.
• The teams traded the lead back and forth over the next several minutes. Santos splashed home a big 3-pointer that gave UIC a 53-50 edge, but after that the Flames sputtered on both ends of the floor for a prolonged period.
• Green Bay scored 15 unanswered points, including six off UIC turnovers, in a span of less than four minutes to grab a 65-53 lead with 10:10 remaining in the game.
• The Flames were down, but not out. With the help of big blocks on the defensive end from Ferguson and Clint Robinson, UIC was able to get some transition buckets. The highlight of the sequence came when Marcus Ottey soared down the lane and threw down a one-handed tomahawk jam that cut the deficit to seven, before he drained a 3-pointer off a feed from Matthews with 7:28 to go that made it a four-point game.
• UIC kept fighting through the final minute, but the Flames were not able to get over the second-half hump. Ferguson's layup made it 82-75, Green Bay, with 53 seconds left, but the Phoenix went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe from that point forward to seal the game.

 Beyond The Box Score

• UIC fell one block shy of the single-game school record for the second time in the last three games. After blocking 12 shots at Detroit Mercy on Friday night, the Flames matched that total Tuesday against the Phoenix. Odiase paced the team with six blocks, while Ferguson added a career-best three. The single-game record stands at 13, which was set against Northeastern Illinois on Jan. 16, 1993.
• Odiase blocked at least five shots in a game for the sixth time in Horizon League play. He now owns 88 blocks on the season after he entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the country with 82 total blocks.
• Odiase also corralled 12 rebounds as part of his team-best seventh double-double. He surpassed 500 career rebounds (510) and now ranks as one of only two players in program history to register at least 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in a career, joining Scott VanderMeer (2006-09).
• The Flames had made at least 10 3-pointers in five of their last six games, but were held to only five Tuesday night. No player made more than one shot from beyond the arc.
• UIC protected the ball well against Green Bay. The Phoenix force opponents into 15.5 turnovers per game this season, but UIC committed only 13. That was the fewest since Jan. 29 vs. Wright State (12).
• All eight players who saw the court for UIC scored at least three points. Seven of eight contributed at least six points against Green Bay.

 What's Next?

• UIC will play its final two regular season games on the road this weekend. The Flames begin the trip with a game at Northern Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Head coach Steve McClain's young squad will finish the slate at Wright State on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. CT.
• With seven wins in League play, the Flames are locked into the No. 6 at the Horizon League Tournament. They will play the third seed, which is yet to be determined, on Sunday, March 5 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT. For the second consecutive year, Motor City Madness will be held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich. Tickets are on sale now and available by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421)