CHICAGO – The UIC men's basketball team was unable to come back and defeat Oakland Saturday (Feb. 29) on Senior Day, falling short to the Golden Grizzlies, 68-66, to end the regular season.

Prior to Saturday's contest, the Flames honored its senior class of Jordan Blount, Godwin Boahen, Tarkus Ferguson and Marcus Ottey.

Ferguson was one of two flames to finish in double figures with a team-high 21 points. The performance marked Ferguson's fourth time this season scoring 20 points or more. Godwin Boahen added 15 points while Michael Diggins finished with a team-high 10 rebounds, his second double-digit rebound game this season. 

The second half was tightly contested, with five ties and three lead changes over the final 20 minutes. The Grizzles used 7-0 run with 4:35 remaining to Oakland's lead to five. UIC cut the deficit to two in the closing seconds, but Boahen's 3-pointer, which he made, was unable to beat the buzzer. 

UIC will be either the No. 3 or No.4 seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament, pending the outcome of Saturday evening's games.

First Half Highlights
• The battle started early as both teams drove in for layups tying the game, 2-2. Braelen Bridges and Ferguson started a 5-0 run giving UIC an early lead with 17:35 remaining, 7-2.
• Bridges continued to produce with a jumper that started another UIC run, its best scoring run in the first half, to push the Flames' lead to nine at 17-8. The jumper was followed with layup from Jacob Wiley and a jumper Ferguson. 
• Oakland began chipping away at UIC's lead with a 6-0 run, their largest scoring run in the first half. Deon Ejim's layup and back-to-back 3-pointers from Godwin Boahen would put the Flames back up by seven, 27-20.
• A shot from the charity from stripe and a jumper would allow the Grizzlies to be one point away from tying UIC at 30-29. Boahen fired a dagger from the 3-point line to keep the Flames alive, 33-29. However, Oakland continued to push and tied the game, 33-33.
• With 1:15 remaining, Ejim scored a jumper that was followed by a layup from Ferguson to give UIC back the lead and end the first half, 37-33. 

Second Half Highlights
• Michel Diggins got UIC on the board first with a shot from downtown and push the advantage to seven. 
• A layup from Oakland would make it the third time the game was tied, this time at 43-all. Another Oakland basket gave the Golden Grizzlies the lead for the first time in the game, 45-43.
• The back-and-forth battle continued as the Flames made three free throws to tie the game again, 48-48. With 10:07 left, Oakland gained the lead again with a layup, until the Ferguson gave UIC their third field goal in the second half to tie the game, 50-50. 
• A 7-0 run would add to the Grizzlies' lead, 64-59. With 3:10 remaining, Diggins drove in for a layup to make it one possession game, 64-61. Oakland continued to produce as they scored a layup of their own to add to add to their lead, 66-61. Marcus Ottey's late layup and free throw wouldn't be enough for the Flames, as Boahen's potential game-winning three came just after the final buzzer 

Facts & Figures
• Godwin Boahen finished with 15 points and six rebounds in his final regular season game of his career.
• UIC outscored Oakland in the paint, 38-28. They were also stronger on the second chance, 11-4, as well off the bench, 17-2. The Grizzlies outscored the Flames off the fast break, 8-4. 
• The Flames shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) overall, compared to 40.7 percent (22-of-54) for the Grizzlies. Oakland was stronger from three, making 33.3 percent (5-of-15) of their long shots compared to 26.1 percent (6-of-23) for the Flames. 
• UIC, once again, won the rebounding battle, owning a 41-37 advantage on the glass. It is just the fourth time this season in which the Flames lost despite having more rebounds than their opponent.