CHICAGO – UIC closed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a convincing 76-55 victory over Saint Francis (IL) on Friday at Credit Union 1 Arena.

The Flames (6-7) recorded 20 assists and turned the ball over a season-low 10 times in the win over the Saints. Junior Godwin Boahen paced UIC with a game-high 20 points as he shot 67 percent (8-of-12) from the floor and 50 percent (4-of-8) from beyond the arc. Marcus Ottey accounted for seven of the team's 20 assists, a career high for the junior.

First-Half Headlines

• CLOSING KICK: UIC held a five-point lead with just under six minutes to go in the first half before finishing with a fury. The Flames smothered the Saints and held the visitors scoreless over the final 3:23 of the half and outscored Saint Francis, 10-0 in that span. The exclamation came when Boahen canned his third 3-pointer of the half off an offensive rebound from Tarkus Ferguson and an assist from Marcus Ottey. That shot helped UIC take a 41-24 lead into the locker room.
• HELPING HANDS: The Flames shared the ball with ease during the first half, accumulating 13 assists on 16 made field goals. Ferguson and Ottey led the way with four helpers each, while Jordan Blount and Michael Diggins tallied two apiece.
• PROTECTING THE ROCK: UIC was credited with only six turnovers in the first half, and none in the final 5:33. On the other side, Saint Francis coughed it up 11 times in the first 20 minutes, and five times in the last 5:57 as the Flames built a cushion.
• INVOLVING EVERYONE: Nine players saw at least 5:17 of court time in the first half. Seven of the nine players broke into the scoring column. Boahen and Blount each shot 4-of-6 from the floor and Boahen led the way with 11 points. The team shot 67 percent (16-of-24) in the opening half and 55 percent from downtown (6-of-11).

Second-Half Headlines

• MORE OF THE SAME: UIC maintained a double-digit lead for the duration of the second half. The Saints climbed within 11 points on two occasions, but each time the Flames were quick to answer. First it was Jamie Ahale knocking down a corner 3-pointer with 8:43 to go, and later Ottey picked up three points the hard way with just over eight minutes left.
• ASSIST THIS: The Flames added seven more assists in the second half to finish with 20. They only turned it over four times, two of which came in the first 91 seconds of the second half.

Highlights


Notable

• UIC finished with its best non-conference home record under head coach Steve McClain. The Flames went 6-1 at Credit Union 1 Arena with the lone defeat coming at the hands of Loyola Chicago on Dec. 1.
• Friday marked the 20^th non-conference win in four seasons under McClain.
• Godwin Boahen has made at least one 3-pointer in 31 consecutive games and he has made multiple triples in 12 of 13 games this season. Friday marked the seventh time this year that he made three or more and the fourth time with at least four.
• Boahen led UIC in scoring for the first time this season becoming the sixth different player to do so. It was the third 20-point performance of the season for the guard.
• Tarkus Ferguson scored 15 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. It was his second with points and rebounds (also at Saint Joseph's).
• Marcus Ottey handed out a career-high seven assists. The Flames had at least 20 for the second time this season (22 vs. Illinois State).
• Nine of the 10 players who saw court time Friday scored
• Jacob Wiley made his first 3-pointer of the season during the first half. He became the 10^th different UIC player to make a shot from beyond the arc this season.

Postgame Reaction



Up Next

• UIC will open Horizon League play on Friday, Dec. 28 at Wright State in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
• The Raiders won the 2017-18 Horizon League championship and were picked at the top of the 2018-19 preseason poll.
• WSU is 6-6 on the season with a test at No. 17 Mississippi State on Saturday, December 22 prior to matching up with the Flames.