YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Two of the hottest teams in the Horizon League will square off Saturday evening when the UIC Flames visit the Youngstown State Penguins inside the Beeghly Center at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. The Flames come to town riding a four-game winning streak, their longest of the season, while the Penguins have won a conference-best five consecutive games.

UIC (14-12, 8-5 Horizon League) won it fourth game in a row with an 81-77 victory at Cleveland State on Thursday night. Marcus Ottey scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Flames and his driving layup with just over 10 seconds remaining broke a tie and put the visitors in front for good. The Vikings had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Tarkus Ferguson came up with the third of his three steals, drew a foul and made two free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining to seal the win.

The victory followed a recent pattern of close calls for UIC. In its last three wins, the team has taken out Northern Kentucky (2), IUPUI (1) and Cleveland State (4) by a combined total of seven points. It is the first time in the program's Division I history that the Flames have won three consecutive games by four points or fewer.

Youngstown State (11-16, 7-7 Horizon League) has also been going down to the wire of late. In four of its five recent victories, the Penguins have won by only one or two points, including a 75-73 victory against IUPUI on Thursday night. The lone blowout in the recent stretch came in the form of a 96-77 drubbing of Green Bay at the Beeghly Center on Feb. 9.

The teams last met on Jan. 10 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. The Flames never trailed and won the matchup, 78-63, for their fifth consecutive victory in the series. Ferguson scored a game-high 23 points with the help of a career-high seven 3-pointers for UIC. The Flames connected on 14 3-pointers that evening and shot 45.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Penguins struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting just over 30 percent from the floor.

Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+. More statistics, notes and information surrounding the upcoming game can be found by clicking the UIC Game Notes (PDF) linked in the blue box above.