CHICAGO – The UIC men's basketball team put their two-game winning streak on the line Sunday afternoon, as they hosted the Northeastern Wildcats at Credit Union 1 Arena. In a back and forth afternoon matinee, the Flames pulled away late in the first half, and never looked back, winning their third game in a row by a final score of 81-73.


1^st HALF

• The two teams went back and forth in the first half of action, with seven lead changes taking place in the first half alone.
• Both teams relied heavily on the three pointer in the first half, with UIC making nine of their 13 attempts in the half. The Huskies attempted nine threes of their own, making seven in the first 20 minutes.
• The Flames used a 5-0 run late in the first half to solidify their largest lead of the half at 10 with 2:41 to go.
• The Huskies used a 7-3 run in the final minutes of the first half to narrow the deficit to five, as the Flames went into the locker room ahead 46-42.
• Jace Carter led all scorers at the break with 17 points.

 2^nd HALF

• The Flames wasted no time regaining their double-digit lead in the second half, as they had a 15-point advantage at the 12:19 mark of the second half.
• Adding on an 8-0 run in the middle portion of the second half, the Flames stretched their largest lead to 20 points at the under-eight minute timeout in the second half.
• The Flames defense also held the Huskies without a made field goal for over five minutes from the 12:08 mark.
• Toby Okani tallied 13 points in the second half, helping the Flames maintain their double-digit lead.
• The Huskies would go on to make a late run in the game, cutting the UIC lead from 20 at it's largest point, to just five with under two minutes to play in the game.
• The Flames made free throws down the stretch to secure the 81-73 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Flames starters led the way throughout the game Sunday, as they scored all but 17 of UIC's points in the victory.
• Northeastern's bench scored 49 of the team's 73 points in the game.
• UIC committed only 11 turnovers in Sunday's game, their third-fewest in a single game this season.

 
UP NEXT
The Flames hit the road next week, as they will play their final contest before the holiday break, traveling to nearby Evanston, Ill. to face off against Big Ten foe Northwestern on Tuesday night. Tip-off from Welsh-Ryan arena is set for 8:00 p.m. CST.