CHICAGO -- UIC wrapped up the regular season at Credit Union 1 Arena on Saturday evening as the Flames fell to the visiting Green Bay Phoenix, 69-59.
 
The Flames (9-12, 6-10) now turn their attention to the Horizon League Basketball Championship, which gets underway Thursday, Feb. 25. UIC is the No. 11 seed in the tournament field and will travel to take on sixth-seeded Youngstown State. Tipoff in Youngstown is slated for 8 p.m. (ET) on Thursday.
 
In a game that featured 11 lead changes and only nine combined turnovers, the Flames were led offensively by guards Maurice Commander and Teyvion Kirk who combined for 23 of the squad's 59 points. The pair also had 11 of the squad's 16 assists. Braelen Bridges added 10 points off the bench.
 
Jacob Wiley, one of four seniors honored in a pregame ceremony before their final home game, hauled in a season-high nine rebounds (one off a career high). Appearing in the 103rd game of his career, the Houstonian made his second career start. Classmates Jamie Ahale, Michael Diggins and Rob Howard also started the game alongside Kirk.
 
How It Happened – First Half

• The tightly contested first half featured nine lead changes and four tied scores, with neither team owning an advantage larger than five points.
• Green Bay owned its largest lead of the half at 9-4 when the Flames responded with a 9-2 run to take a slim 13-11 advantage. A 3-pointer from Diggins opened the scoring run, while Bridges connected on back-to-back buckets in the paint.
• UIC held a one-point lead at 26-25 with 3:04 to play, but the visitors ended the run by scoring the final six points to head into the halftime break with a 31-26 lead.
• Eight of Bridges' 10 points in the game came in the first half, going 4-for-6 from the field.

 
How It Happened – Second Half

• Six consecutive points from the Phoenix to open the second half extended their lead to a game-high 11 points at 37-26 with 18:03 remaining in the game.
• Commander, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, connected on a 3-pointer with 11:27 remaining to bring the Flames back in front by a slim 45-44 margin.
• After Green Bay pushed back in front and led by eight with 5:10 left to go, UIC slowly climbed back into the game. Ahale connected on a 3-pointer with 2:21 left to pull the Flames within three, but a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line by the Phoenix down the stretch prevented the comeback.

 
News and Notes

• Wiley hauled in a season-high nine rebounds, one shy of matching his career best of 10.
• Commander dished out a career-high six assists, topping his previous best with the Flames of three.
• The Flames limited Green Bay to 2-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc, the seventh time this season UIC has held an opponent to 15.4% shooting or worse from deep.