FORT WAYNE, Ind. – No. 8 UIC furiously erased a 17-point deficit at No. 2 Purdue Fort Wayne in the quarterfinal of the 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Tuesday night, but the Mastodons jumped back in front down the stretch and survived with a narrow 78-72 victory.

The Flames (14-16) fell behind the regular season co-champions by as many as 17 points in the first and trailed by 13 at the half. UIC eventually regained the lead on a 3-pointer with just over five minutes to go in the game, but a quick run by the Mastodons put them back in front for good.

Jace Carter and Jalen Warren paced the Flames with 16 points apiece. It was one shy of a season high for both the freshman and graduate student, respectively. Carter was also one rebound shy of matching his high in that category and recording a double-double, hauling in nine.

After 20 minutes of play the Flames emerged from the visiting team locker room after the half like a completely different bunch. Trailing by 13 after 20 minutes of play, UIC methodically chipped away and pulled to within two possessions when Carter splashed in a 3-pointer with 16:24 remaining to cap an 11-4 run that made the score 46-40 in favor of the 'Dons.

Purdue Fort Wayne score four straight points to push its lead back to 10, but the Flames simply would not go away. Sharpshooter Jamie Ahale canned a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game with just under 11 minutes to go. The battle continued and when Damaria Franklin's 3-pointer found the bottom of the net with 5:23 remaining, UIC moved in front, 61-60. It was the team's first lead since the 14:19 mark of the first half.

The edge was short-lived, however. The Mastodons began a 7-0 run on the next possession to take the lead that they would maintain for the duration. The Flames would come within three points again with just under a minute to go when Warren made a mid-range jumper to make it 72-69, but that was as close as the visitors would game.

After opening the scoring on the night and building a slight early lead, UIC surrendered 16 unanswered points to the Mastodons in just over two minutes as they built a 23-11 cushion with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Flames turned it over eight times in the opening eight minutes with Purdue Fort Wayne capitalizing with 13 points off miscues in that span.

Purdue Fort Wayne built its lead to as many as 17 points in the first half before taking a 42-29 advantage into the locker room at the break.

Notes

• Thursday's result snapped a four-game winning streak for the Flames. It was the longest of the season for UIC.
• UIC made 11 3-pointers in both of its Horizon League Championship games this week. Over its last five games, the Flames averaged 10.4 made triples per game.
• The Flames handed out 12 assists to only six for the Mastodons. UIC reached double-digit helpers in all but three contests this season, including in each of the last 15 games.
• Purdue Fort Wayne scored 51% of its points in the paint to only 36% for UIC.
• Jace Carter led, or co-led, UIC in scoring for the first time this season.
• Damaria Franklin scored 14 points. He reached double figures a team-best 25 times this season.
• Franklin blocked a season-high three shots. Defensively, UIC swatted a season-high nine as a team, while it did not have a single shot rejected on the offensive end.