ROCHESTER, Mich. – Despite standout performances from Damaria Franklin and Kevin Johnson, the UIC men's basketball team dropped an 81-74 road contest at Oakland Saturday afternoon.
 
Franklin finishing with a team-high 25 points, his second 25-point performance in the last three games, to go along with six assists and four rebounds. Johnson chipped in 22 points, six assists and a career-high five steals.
 
The Flames had a pair of leads early, with Zion Griffin's dunk giving UIC a 4-2 advantage before a Franklin jumper put the visitors back in front, 6-5, with 17:38 left. That was the last lead the Flames would see in the opening half, as Oakland built its advantage to as many as 14 in the first 20 minutes. UIC's offense came to life the final 2:16, outscoring the Golden Grizzlies by an 11-4 margin, including the six points of the half, to pull within five at 34-29 headed into the break.
 
With 16:50 remaining in the game, Franklin connected on a jumper to cap a 6-0 UIC run and give the Flames its first advantage since early in the game at 41-40. The lead would flip flop back and forth all the way up to 56-55 in favor of UIC, but an 8-2 Oakland run put the Golden Grizzlies in front for the remainder of the game. Franklin hit a triple with 26 seconds left to get the Flames within three, but perfect 4-for-4 shooting at the line by Oakland closed out the game.
 
UIC returns to action Thursday, Feb. 3 at home against Robert Morris. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
News and Notes

• Saturday's game featured 16 ties and six lead changes, with 12 of the ties and four of the lead changes coming in the second half.
• Despite going 3-for-16 from beyond the arc in the opening half, UIC finished the game with 11 triples thanks to an 8-for-17 performance from deep in the final 20 minutes.
• Johnson's five steals are the most by a UIC player under Luke Yaklich.
• UIC received 11 points from its bench while all of Oakland's 81 points came from its starters.