Box Score CHICAGO – The UIC men's basketball team returned to action Wednesday night following an eight-day hiatus for the holiday break, as they hosted the Illinois State at Credit Union 1 Arena.
The Flames led by as many as 18 in the second half, and held off a feverish Illinois State run to earn their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference victory by a final score of 55-51.
 
1^st Half

• The game started off very defensively-focused, with both teams shooting under 50% on their first eight respective shot attempts.
• Freshman Steven Clay came off the bench in the first half, and was leading all scorers with six points before the under-eight minute time-out.
• A Filip Skobalj three-pointer at the 6:47 mark of the first half pushed the Flames lead to 11, three of his five points in the first 20 minutes.
• The Flames were in a thieving mood in the first half, with their four steals partially resulting in 14 points off of Illinois State turnovers.
• UIC used the three pointer to open up their lead at the end of the half, making five first half three-pointers to head into the locker room with a 16-point advantage at 33-17.

 
2^nd Half

• UIC managed to maintain their double-digit lead early in the second half, largely due to Toby Okani's team-leading 12 points at the under-16 media timeout in the second half.
• Okani also shined on the defensive end, setting a new individual season high for blocks in a game with seven, just two shy of the UIC record of nine in a single game.
• Jace Carter once again led the Flames in minutes played on Wednesday, scoring nine points in 38 minutes.
• The Redbirds would go on a 13-3 run in the middle portion of the second half, cutting the UIC lead to seven with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
• Illinois State would go on to cut the deficit to just two at the final media timeout of regulation at the 3:22 mark of the game.
• The Flames regained control of the game late, thanks in large part to Okani, who ended the game just two points shy of his season-high of 21 points with 18.

 
UP NEXT
The Flames will play one more Missouri Valley Conference tilt before flipping the calendar to 2023, as they will hit the road to take on the Bradley Braves in Peoria, Ill. on New Years Eve. Saturday's tip-off from Carver Arena is set for 1:00 p.m. CST.