Marcus Ottey had a season high-tying 20 points, and UIC rallied from a 19 point deficit, but the Flames (3-5) ultimately ran out of time in a 73-64 loss to Loyola (5-3) at Credit Union 1 Arena Saturday afternoon. Though the Flames dominated on the boards, 37-28, the visitors shot 56.9% - by far the best against UIC's defense this season – and never let UIC get closer than seven points down the stretch.
Ottey's 20 points were a game high.
Jordan Blount had a game- and season-high 11 rebounds and a season best five assists. Loyola had three players score 16 points among four in double digits.
First Half Highlights
- Threading the Needle: Tarkus Ferguson ignited the Flames soon after the opening tip. Twice, he laced a pass between two Ramblers to an open teammate in position for a layup. Godwin Boahen connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at 7.
- A Hot Start: After missing their first two shots, Loyola made eight of nine, including a run of six straight, to engineer a 10-2 run. Sixteen of their first 21 points came in the paint, and they led by as many as 15 points.
- Block Party: All five of UIC's blocks came in the first half, three in rapid succession. Ottey started things off with a highlight worthy rejection under the rim, Michael Diggins and Jacob Wiley each had a rejection with emphasis, and later Ferguson added one as neither team scored for nearly five minutes.
- Chipping Away: Diggins made a layup and Blount fed Ottey for a short jumper off a steal during a mini 7-0 run as the clock dipped below seven minutes. Ottey made a strong drive across the lane for a left-handed layin to further energize the crowd of 3,539.
- Lane is Open: The teams traded baskets for the final three-plus minutes of the half, with all but one of the combined eight makes coming on layups. Ottey grabbed the Flames' fourth steal of the half and went coast to coast for an easy two to highlight the back-and-forth action that saw Loyola's lead oscillate between nine and seven points down the stretch.
Second Half Highlights
- Rambling Out of the Break: Loyola scored the first 10 points of second half as Cameron Krutwig and Marques Townes did damage underneath. UIC managed just two shots in the process. They did stem the tide when Ottey made a skip pass along the baseline to Ferguson for a 3, followed by a Boahen layup.
- Closing the Gap: Howard made his only three of the game, following an Ottey layin over the front of the rim, to get the Flames back within 10. Tough baskets by Bruno Skokna and Clayton Custer gave Loyola temporary momentum, before a Wiley and-one and a Boahen runner whittled the deficit to single digits midway through the half.
- Loyola's Lead Gets Larger: The Ramblers increased their advantage to an ultimately insurmountable 16 points over the next four minutes. Skokna hit a three at the end of shot clock, Krutwig had three blocks in the same sequence, and Skokna milked the shot clock once again before making a layup at end of shot clock to make it 66-50.
- Flames Fight to the End: Three pointers in the final 90 seconds from Ferguson and Boahen and a determined putback by Blount applied some end-of-game pressure. When Ferguson missed a 22-footer, the Flames' last best chance to complete the comeback fizzled. Though Skokna missed two at the line, opening the door for Ottey to pull UIC within seven, Townes swished a pair from the stripe to account for the final margin.
Postgame Reaction
Notables
- Ottey has scored in double figures in all eight games this season, the only Flame to do so.
- UIC secured a season high 37 rebounds for the second straight game.
- Thirteen of the Flames' caroms came on the offensive glass, marking a season high.
- The Flames dominated the defensive glass, allowing just two Loyola offensive rebounds.
- Boahen scored 16, and Blount and Ferguson chipped in nine apiece.
- Blount led the team in assists for the first time of the season. He paced the squad in rebounds for the second time.
- The Flames went to the free throw line a season-low eight times, making just five.
- The teams played to a standstill in the paint, each scoring 42 in the lane. Both squads also scored 10 on fast breaks.
- UIC scored first, but held the lead for just 2:06 before Loyola went ahead to stay.
- The crowd of over 3500 was the largest of the season at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- Loyola won their seventh straight in the series.
Up Next
- UIC will conclude its brief two-game homestand on Wednesday evening.
- The Flames will face their second straight opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference when Illinois State visits Credit Union 1 Arena.
- Tipoff will be at 6:00 pm. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and the Credit Union 1 Arena box office.
