YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The UIC men's basketball team fell in the opening round of the Horizon League Basketball Championship Thursday evening, dropping a 74-58 decision to the Penguins inside the Beeghly Center.
 
Four Flames (9-13) scored in double figures, led by Teyvion Kirk's team-high 13 points. RayQuawndis Mitchell added 12 points off the bench while Maurice Commander scored 11 and Michael Diggins contributed 10. Kirk and Mitchell paced the rebounding effort with seven each while Kirk dished out a team-best four assists.
 
Mitchell scored five consecutive points to pull the 11^th-seeded Flames within six at 57-51 with 5:13 to play, but the sixth-seeded Penguins closed the game on a 17-7 run to seal the victory.
 
How It Happened – First Half

• Commander opened the scoring Thursday with a 3-pointer, putting the Flames ahead in the early going. UIC held the lead twice more during the first half, with Kirk's layup off a Penguin turnover putting the Flames back up by three at 10-7 with 15 minutes to go. Five straight by YSU pushed the hosts ahead for good, but the game was far from over.
• The Kirk bucket was one of three for the redshirt junior in the opening half, as Kirk led the Flames with six points at the break.
• An 11-4 Youngstown State run to end the half put the Flames at a 10-point deficit heading into the halftime break.

 
How It Happened – Second Half

• With the Penguins leading by 14 points at the 16:13, Kirk scored five unanswered points to pull the Flames within nine.
• Later in the half, it was Mitchell's turn to go on a run as a personal 5-0 scoring spurt over a minute of action brought the deficit down to six at 57-51 with 5:13 to play.
• Youngstown State countered with nine-straight points to kickstart an eventual 17-7 run to close out the game and seal the victory.
• Diggins scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, going 4-for-7 from the field.

 
News and Notes

• With his 13 points, Kirk has scored in double figures in all but four contests this season.
• Mitchell's seven rebounds are a new career-high, topping his previous best of five, set in UIC's Horizon League opener against Oakland.
• Commander made a team-high three 3-pinters Thursday, his sixth game this year with three or more made triples.