Marcus Ottey scored a season high 24 points, but shooting woes plagued UIC throughout their 80-67 loss to Oakland at Credit Union 1 Arena Saturday afternoon. Ottey made eight of 15 shots, but the rest of the team shot just 32.6%, including 2-for-18 from three point distance.
The Grizzlies (10-12, 6-3 Horizon) used a balanced attack, placing five players in double figures. Xavier Hill-Mais led the team with 20. Karmari Newman added 17 off the bench, and Tray Maddox Jr. scored 15. The Flames (10-12, 4-5 Horizon) fell behind by 19 points in the first half and never were able to put together a rally.
The loss was just the Flames' third setback on their home court this season. They will look to get back in the win column when their season-long homestand continues February 1 with a nationally televised game against Wright State.
First Half Highlights
- Low-Scoring Start: The early shooting success – or lack thereof – by both teams would prove to be indicative of the rest of the first half. Jordan Blount drew an offensive foul on Xavier Hill-Mais as the teams combined to miss 11 straight shots, keeping the score tied at 2 four minutes in.
- Shades of Magic: Godwin Boahen tried to ignite the offense with a steal and half-court bounce pass to Marcus Ottey for a layup on the break. The defense made a stand by harassing Oakland into an 0-for-6 drought.
- Highlight Reel Finish: Good passing got the defense overloaded to the right side, and Rob Howard stepped in from the left for a wide open dunk.
- Fouls Benefit Oakland: Oakland earned a few trips to the free throw line, where they built an 11-1 run. The Flames were held without a field goal for 4:37 while the visitors found their stroke, making five straight. As the half closed, Boahen got off a behind the back shot that rolled around the rim and fell.
- Amidst Poor Shooting, Downtown Makes the Difference: Neither team shot well in the first half. Oakland made 37% of their shots, while UIC converted just 32%. Oakland was able to make four three-pointers, while the Flames did themselves no favors from downtown, going 0-for-9.
Second Half Highlights
- Making His Marc-us: Ottey made a driving layup on the first possession, later he aggressively drove to the rim and earned a trip to the free throw line, and then grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast, accounting for six of the team's first seven second half points
- Offense Shows Sparks: Blount, playing with four fouls, made a nice move to avoid contact on a baseline drive and sank a reverse layup. Boahen made the team's first three pointer of the contest at the 10:10 mark. Ottey spun around in traffic and was able to make a bank shot while being fouled. Rob Howard was led nicely to the basket by a Tarkus Ferguson pass over his defender for an open layup.
- Big Plays in Late Run: Ferguson grabbed a steal and sent an outlet pass to Ottey for a layup. Blount lobbed to Diggins for a crowd pleasing alley-oop. Though the Flames put together a late run, the surge was too little to overcome an Oakland lead that got as large as 22 points.
Postgame Reaction
Notables
- Ottey surpassed his previous season high by one point. He finished five points shy of his career high.
- Godwin Boahen made the team's only two three-pointers. He has made at least one in every game this season, and extended his overall streak to 40 games dating to last season.
- Diggins scored 11 points, marking the second time in three games that he has hit double figures.
- UIC held a 41-37 edge in rebounding. Twelve of the Flames' caroms came on the offensive glass.
- Oakland committed only eight turnovers, the lowest of any of UIC's Horizon League opponents to date.
- The Golden Grizzlies overcame their first half shooting woes by making 52% of their field goals in the second half.
- Hill-Mais finished with a double-double, grabbing a game high 13 rebounds.
- The Flames scored 21 points in the first half, marking a season low.
- UIC's three point attack, the nation's seventh most prolific, managed just two makes from downtown on an 11% (2-for-18) percentage, both season lows.
Up Next
- The Flames will host Wright State next Friday, February 1, at 8:00 pm.
- The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
- Tickets are available on ticketmaster.com.
