YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – UIC and Youngstown State were tied with less than three minutes to go, but a late surge by the Penguins propelled the home team to an 88-79 victory at the Beeghly Center Thursday night.

Damaria Franklin recorded his ninth game with 20 or more points with his team-high 23, and nearly recorded his fifth double-double of the year with nine rebounds and four assists. Jace Carter topped his season high of 16 with his 17-point effort, with five of his six field goals coming from 3-point range. Two other Flames scored in double figures, with Zion Griffin scoring 16 off the bench while Jalen Warren added 12.
 
The Flames shot the ball extremely well, with matching 50% field goal percentages in each half, but was outdone by a Youngstown State squad that finished 10-for-16 (62.5%) from 3-point range and owning a 20-10 advantage in free throws.
 
UIC built its first cushion of the game thanks to an 8-2 run to take a 35-26 lead with 7:13 left in the half. Griffin and Warren started the run with buckets before Franklin ended the UIC push with back-to-back jumpers.
 
After the Penguins cut the UIC lead down to five, the Flames quickly pushed it back up to 10 thanks to a triple from Carter and another layup from Warren. For Carter, the freshman scored 12 first-half points thanks to a 4-for-5 effort from the 3-point line.
 
Youngstown State made a late push to pull within three in the closing minutes, but a buzzer-beating triple by Franklin gave UIC the six-point lead heading into the break.
 
UIC's lead grew to a game-high 11 points less than five minutes into the second half. Carter's layup with 15:48 left gave UIC a 56-45 cushion and another Carter bucket, this time a 3-pointer, with 14:29 remaining pushed the lead back to 11.
 
The Penguins slowly chipped away, using a 9-0 run to gain the 71-67 lead with 7:55 to play. Not backing down, Griffin had a stretch where he scored five consecutive points to even things up at 77-all with just under three minutes remaining. It was all Youngstown State down the stretch, as the Penguins closed the game on an 11-2 run to pull away with the victory.
 
UIC plays its final road game of the regular season on Saturday, taking on Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa.
 
News and Notes

• Warren dished out a game-high eight assists, the third time this year Warren has finished with eight helpers.
• Thursday marked the third time this year UIC shot 50% or better from the field. The Flames outshot Youngstown State from the field, 50%-46.8%.
• UIC owned a 25:05-11:58 advantage in time with the lead Thursday.