INDIANAPOLIS – The UIC men's basketball team could not contain the hot shooting of IUPUI Friday (Feb. 12) afternoon, falling 89-69 inside the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
The Jaguars (6-8, 5-8HL) shot 57.4% from the field, the highest allowed by UIC this year, and were led by Marcus Burk, Jaylen Minnett and Elyjah Goss, who combined to score 78 of IUPUI's 89 points. UIC (8-10, 5-8) was paced by Teyvion Kirk, Rob Howard and Michael Diggins offensively. The trio combined to score all 30 of UIC's first-half points and finished the game with 19, 14 and 13 points, respectively. After being held in check the first half, Maurice Commander added 15 second-half points on 5-for-9 shooting, including four from beyond the arc.
 
Both teams came out firing, with the lead changing back and forth over the first five minutes of action. Howard's jumper with 14:53 left gave the Flames a slim 12-11 lead before back-to-back buckets gave the Jaguars a four-point advantage and a lead they would not relinquish.
 
UIC will play its final road game of the regular season Saturday afternoon, with tip against IUPUI slated for 11 a.m. (CT).
 
How It Happened – First Half

• A total of six players accounted for 67 of the 70 points scored in the opening half. Kirk scored 12 on 5-for-8 shooting while Diggins added 10 and Howard contributed eight for all 30 of UIC's points. For IUPUI Goss, Minnett and Burk combined for 37 of the 40 points for the Jaguars.
• Both teams exhibited strong offensive output, with both squads shooting over 42% from the field.
• After Kirk got the Flames within two with 5:54 to play, IUPUI ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead into the break.

 
How It Happened – Second Half

• Commander began to heat up in the second half, scoring seven consecutive points for the Flames before Zion Griffin got into the scoring column with a layup of his own. After three UIC players scored in the first half, a total of eight Flames scored at least two points over the final 20 minutes.
• A layup by Braelen Bridges pulled the Flames within nine with 12:56 to play, but an extended 19-5 IUPUI run game out of reach at a 23-point advantage.

News and Notes

• Commander extended his streak of games with 10 or more points to six games (and seven of the last eight contests).
• Kirk dished out a team-high six assists, his eighth game this year with six or more helpers.