CHICAGO -- Behind 14 points from Tarkus Ferguson and Marcus Ottey each, the UIC men's basketball program topped Parkside, 63-59, Sunday evening in the team's lone exhibition contest.
 
Ottey and Ferguson tied for the game high in points while Ferguson dished out a game-high seven assists and brought a team-best six rebounds. Braelen Bridges scored six points and brought in four rebounds in his UIC debut while making his first start as a Flame.
 
UIC swatted away six shots Sunday evening, including three from Michael Diggins and one each from Ottey, Ferguson and Jacob Wiley.
 
The Flames open the 2019-20 regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 as UIC plays host to Olivet Nazarene at 7 p.m. inside Credit Union 1 Arena.
 
First Half Highlights

• Helping Hand: UIC made 14 field goals during the opening 20 minutes and assisted on 10 of the 14 made buckets. Ferguson dished out four assists in the opening half while Diggins added three.
• Closing Time: With the score tied at 20-all with 8:37 remaining in the opening half, the Flames ended the half on a 12-4 run to take an eight-point lead into the break. Brian Taylor scored his first point as a member of the program during the stretch before Bridges added back-to-back buckets.

Second Half Highlights

• Largest Lead: UIC built its advantage to as many as 11 at two separate points during the second half. The Flames used a 7-2 run over 2:22 to build a 51-40 lead and later matched the 11-point margin at 53-42.
• Free Throws Matter: UIC was 11-of-13 from the free throw line in Sunday's game, including 8-of-9 in the second half. As Parkside cut UIC's lead to single digits down the stretch, the Flames went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 18 seconds to seal the victory.

Notables

• UIC played 10 players Sunday night, with all 10 players scoring at least two points.
• The Flames recorded 10 steals while limiting Parkside to five.
• UIC led for 31:30 of Sunday's game, all but 33 seconds of the second half.