DAYTON, Ohio – The UIC men's basketball team was unable to come back and defeat league-leading Wright State Friday (Feb. 14), falling to the Raiders by a 75-58 final.
 
Tarkus Ferguson was one of three Flames in double figures with a team-high 19 points, while Marcus Ottey added 15 and Jordan Blount contributed 10 points.
 
Wright State led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but a late push by the Flames trimmed the halftime deficit to six points. Out of the break, the Raiders opened the half on a 9-0 run to push its lead back above double digits at 15. UIC battled its way back, cutting the margin down to just eight points with six and a half minutes to go, but could not get any closer down the stretch.
 
UIC closes out the road portion of its regular season schedule Sunday (Feb. 16) afternoon at Northern Kentucky.
 
First Half Highlights

• It was the Blount show early, as the senior poured in UIC's first six points on a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the field. The Irishman added a pair of free throws in the opening half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
• Trailing by six midway through the opening half, Jamie Ahale connected from downtown. The sharpshooter would drill another 3-pointer a few minutes later for his second of the half.
• The Flames outscored the Raiders, 7-4, over the final 3:29 of action to trim its deficit down to just six at the break. Ferguson scored three points in the stretch while Ottey and Michael Diggins added two points each.

 
Second Half Highlights

• The Raiders opened the second half with a 9-0 scoring run to build its lead up to 15, the largest of the game at that point. Blount's final bucket of the night ended the run at the 14:56 mark.
• A 12-4 run by the Flames would cut into Wright State's lead, trimming what was a 16-point advantage down to just eight with 6:32 to play. Ferguson led the charge, scoring six of the 12 points during the spurt.
• Wright State countered with five consecutive points, all coming from the free throw line, to build its lead back to double digits and led by 10+ points the rest of the way.

 
News and Notes

• Ferguson was UIC's leading scorer for a team-best ninth time this season. He has scored 10 or more points in 20 of the 24 contests he has played in this year.
• Blount had a season-high three steals after having recorded two-steal games in each of his last two appearances.
• For just the second time in its last 10 games, UIC did not win the rebounding battle. Wright State held a 43-34 edge in rebounding, owning nine more defensive rebounds than the Flames.