CHICAGO -- Tarkus Ferguson buried a career-high seven 3-pointers, all in the first half, en route to a game high 23 points, as UIC (8-9, 2-2 HL) led by as many as 32 in their 78-63 win over Youngstown State (5-13, 1-4 HL) Thursday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.

The Flames scored the first 14 points of the game and never looked back, shooting 55 percent on the night - their best effort in Horizon League play. Godwin Boahen scored 21 points, and Rob Howard had 11 in his second consecutive start. UIC made a season high-tying 14 threes, converting 45 percent (14-of-31) of their attempts from downtown.

First-Half Highlights

• A Hot Start: Rob Howard got things going by making the team's first two baskets, one on a nice spin in the lane. When Ferguson made his first 3-pointer to run the score to 7-0, Youngstown State called an early timeout. That stoppage did not cool off the Flames. Ferguson kept the Penguins off the board by drawing an offensive foul, Godwin Boahen converted a nice spin in the lane, and UIC scored the first 14 points of the game.
• Game of Runs: Once YSU managed to get on the board, they embarked on a 3-point barrage to score nine straight points. Boahen took a lead-out pass for a reverse layup to end that run and spark a 10-0 run for his team, only to see the Penguins score nine consecutive after that.
• Raining Threes: Ferguson ended Youngstown State's last extended run by making a James Harden-esque stepback 3-pointers. Olamide Pedersen scored five straight Penguin points, but Ferguson made another triple from same corner and Howard showed some agility on a twisting and-one to ensure that he would not shrink his team's deficit under double digits.
• Damage Done: Ferguson made his seventh three at the halftime buzzer from a couple steps behind the arc at the top of the key.

Second-Half Highlights

• Dunk City: Held without a slam dunk in the first half, the Flames made up for lost time in the second. Jordan Blount found a cutting Ferguson for a vicious one handed throwdown.  Michael Diggins elevated with authority off a no-look pass from Jamie Ahale for two of his nine points, and later received a crowd pleasing alley-oop from Howard.
• Heating Up From Downtown: Travell Washington got on the board with a corner three after the Flames broke the full court pressure that Youngstown State employed even as the Flames' lead swelled to 30 points. Diggins followed with a fast break triple at the 15:25 mark that gave the Flames their largest lead to that point at 60-29.
• Late Runs Not Nearly Enough: YSU used a 14-4 run to get within 22 with under 8:00 to play – the closest they got to UIC since the first half. Though the Flames scored only sporadically from then on, they were content to take the air out of the ball and watch time tick away. The Penguins only reduced the margin under 20 in final minute, when they scored the last nine points of the game.

Highlights



Notables

• Ferguson became the seventh Flame to make at least seven treys in a game, and the first since Daniel Barnes had eight in a win over Detroit Mercy in 2013.  The team record in a single game is nine (Brian Hill).
• Ferguson also had a game-high five assists.
• UIC had two players score 20 or more points each for the fourth time this season, and the first time since December 8 against Colorado, when Marcus Ottey (22) and Jordan Blount (20) accomplished the task.
• Youngstown State held the edge on the glass, 42-32.
• Naz Bohannon, the Horizon League's second-leading rebounder, had a game high 14 boards.  Eight of them came on the offensive end, a category in which he ranks third nationally.
• UIC won its fifth straight game against YSU.  It extends their longest winning streak in the series since they won the first 16 games the teams played from 1993-2006.
• It was the 50^th win at UIC for head coach Steve McClain.
• The Flames scored 32 points in the paint.  They made only one two-point basket outside the paint and that was the first of the game off the hands of Rob Howard.
• The Penguins shot 42 percent from 3-point distance, but just 24 percent on two-pointers.

Postgame Reaction





Up Next

• The three-game homestand will conclude Saturday against Cleveland State.
• The Flames and Vikings will tip at 3:12 pm.
• The game is part of a Flames Family Weekend, with $1 hot dogs and $3.12 tickets available using the code FAMILY at ticketmaster.com.