Foul trouble plagued UIC in a midweek matchup with St. Joseph's Wednesday night, as the Hawks (4-3) went to the free throw line 41 times, making 36, in an 89-75, come from behind win over the Flames (3-4) in Philadelphia.

The Flames held the Hawks to 38.3% shooting – just one tenth above their lowest effort of the season – and allowed just seven three-pointers, tying the season low for a St. Joe's squad that led the A-10 in three point percentage and ranked 19^th in the NCAA in threes per game.  A three-point barrage of their own helped UIC build a 13 point lead in the second half.  Then SJU committed to driving consistently, drew contact, and capitalized on their foul shots.

Tarkus Ferguson had 23 points and a career high five three-pointers to lead UIC.  He added 10 rebounds and a game high five assists.  Marcus Ottey (17 points) and Jordan Blount (14 points) joined Ottey in double figures.

First Half Highlights

• Beginning with Blount: Jordan Blount showed off some nice moves off the opening tip.  He converted a spinning drive and-one on the first possession, and then drew a foul on another foray into the lane on the next trip.  After the restart, he made a reverse layup, personally giving the Flames the early 5-0 lead.
• Hawks Get Off the Ground: St. Joe's went on a 6-0 run, taking an 11-10 lead, following a Flames turnover on the baseline and a court-length pass.  Tarkus Ferguson made a three on a fast break to end the short drought.
• Scoring Off Turnovers: Marcus Ottey came away with a steal and drove for a layup early in the half.  He upped the ante after another steal, making an elusive move 1-on-1 on the ensuing fast break for a layup that accounted for the fourth and final lead change of the first half.  Less than a minute later, he prevented the Hawks from building momentum off a Charlie Brown dunk with another driving layup.
• Dialing Long Distance: The Flames made three triples in the last four minutes, including two by Ferguson, to create some separation.  Combined with holding St. Joe's without a field goal in the last two minutes, Michael Diggins' short, buzzer-beating jumper gave UIC a game-high eight point lead heading into the break.

Second Half Highlights

• Returning to Form: Each team had a spurt of long-distance accuracy, befitting a game between two of the NCAA's top three-point shooting teams.  First the Flames rained 3's, as Travell Washington hit from the top of the key, Blount connected from the left wing, and Godwin Boahen used a screen nicely to make one of his three triples.  By the time Ferguson hit one from near the UIC bench at the 16:26 mark, the Flames had raced out to a 52-40 lead.
• Our Turn Now: St. Joe's made three long balls of their own in a three minute span.  Lamarr Kimble had two of them, en route to scoring 24 of his game-high 31 points in the second half.  Ottey would stem the tide with a couple of free throws, but another three by Kimble gave the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish.
• Capitalizing on Freebies: The Hawks scored 14 consecutive points from the free throw line, where they shot a season high 87.8%.  Meanwhile, UIC missed five straight shots, all from 3-point distance.  Before the Flames' drought ended on Ferguson's season high-tying fifth three, Kimble hit a turnaround from 12 feet followed by Taylor Funk beating the shot clock with a 3 that put the hosts up by 11 points and ended all hopes for a comeback.

Notables

• UIC hit their average of 11 three pointers, good for 17^th in the NCAA entering action.  However, they did so on 35 attempts for their second-lowest percentage of the season.
• Ferguson led the team in points, rebounds, and assists for the second time this year, both in the last three games.  With 23 points and 10 boards, he logged his third double-double of the season and the 14^th of his career.
• Ferguson also matched his career high of five made threes for the third time this year.
• UIC got only five points from its bench.  Four of those came from Diggins and Jacob Wiley added the fifth.
• In the first half, UIC forced six turnovers, a pace well ahead of the Hawks' second-in-the-nation 8.2 per game.  But St. Joe's committed just one miscue after halftime.
• The Flames fell to 0-2 versus Atlantic 10 competition this season (Duquesne).
• Both of those losses came after UIC held a halftime lead.  The Flames are 2-2 in games they led at the break.
• SJU scored 57 points in the second half, the most the Flames have given up in any half this season.
• The Flames held Charlie Brown to just five second half points, and a total of 19 that was six less than his Atlantic 10-leading average.
• St. Joe's 36 free throws tied the season high by Flames opponents.  The Hawks' 41 attempts were the most the Flames allowed since January 10, 2016 at Oakland (41).
• All of Bynum's 17 points came in the paint or on free throws following a foul in the paint.

Up Next

• The Flames will return to the friendly confines of Credit Union 1 Arena for a Saturday matinee against 2018 Final Four participant Loyola, starting at 3:12 pm.
• The game will be part of Beach Day.  A free tailgate party will be provided in the Credit Union 1 Arena parking lot at Racine and Harrison starting at 1:00.  The first 1,000 UIC students through the doors will receive a free beach towel featuring the new court design.
• It will be the first visit by a Final Four team to UIC's campus since 2012.
• Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and the Credit Union 1 Arena box office.