CHICAGO – Toby Okani recorded his first collegiate double-double Monday (Nov. 7) evening as the Flames rolled to an 82-48 victory over Trinity Christian on opening night across the college basketball landscape.
Okani finished with 11 points and career-best 13 rebounds in his UIC debut to tally his first collegiate double-double. The transfer from Duquesne was extremely efficient, finishing 4-for-5 from the field and picking up 10 of his 13 rebounds on the defensive end. A native of Orange, New Jersey, Okani was also responsible for two of UIC's 10 blocks in the contest, the most blocks in a game under head coach
Luke Yaklich.
Three Flames scored in double figures, with
Jace Carter finishing with a team-high 13 and
Jalen Jackson adding 11 in his collegiate debut to go along with Okani's 13. In total, all 10 players who saw the court Monday scored at least five points. Freshmen
Bessanty Saragba,
Steven Clay and
Christian Jones all had five points in their first-ever collegiate action while freshman
Cameron Fens added eight. Redshirt freshman
Jaden Brownell scored his first points for the Flames after sitting out all of last season, finishing with seven.
UIC methodically built a first-half lead behind an evenly-distributed offense. Eight different players scored in the opening half, led by Carter's nine, as the team took a 16-point lead into the break. Coming out of the halftime intermission, the Flames opened the half on a 28-7 scoring run to put the contest out of reach and would cruise through the final six minutes of the contest.
City bragging rights are on the line next time out as the Flames play host to Loyola on Friday, November 11. The Ramblers will head to Credit Union 1 Arena 1-0 after surviving an overtime scare from Fairleigh Dickinson, 88-82.
News and Notes
- Jackson finished the game with a game-high five steals, matching the most steals by a single player under head coach Luke Yaklich (Kevin Johnson at Oakland, 1/29/22).
- Fens controlled the rim throughout the entire game, finishing with four blocks and bringing in eight rebounds. As a team the Flames held a 53-40 edge on the glass and a 10-2 advantage in blocks. The four blocks are the most by a Yaklich-coached player.
- UIC's big men dominated the paint, outscoring the Trolls in paint points, 40-24. UIC also got out on the fast-break to the tune of a 24-4 scoring advantage in fast break points.
