CHICAGO – The UIC men's basketball team returned to home Missouri Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon, as Northern Iowa traveled to Chicago for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off. After jumping out to an early 16-point lead, the Flames were unable to close out the contest, and dropped their seventh straight by a final score of 78-72.
 
COACH'S COMMENT
"We had great energy and execution to start the game," commented head coach Luke Yaklich. "We played well enough to win, but we didn't respond well enough to adversity to win today."
 
FIRST HALF

• The Flames got off to one of their best starts of the season, outscoring the Panthers 21-7 in the first eight minutes of the contest.
• Tre Anderson aided UIC's great start, tallying eight of those 21 points on 3-4 shooting.
• The Panthers' Bowen Born and Tytan Anderson helped narrow the gap for UNI, adding six points each to cut the deficit to seven at 29-22.
• Jace Carter brought the energy for UIC in the first half, making three of his first four attempts from beyond the arc.
• UIC would enter the locker room with a 38-31 advantage.

 
SECOND HALF

• Christian Jones started the second half with two assists, a Carter basket and an Anderson three pointer, to help stretch the UIC lead back to 10.
• The Panthers used a 12-0 run at the start of the second half to take a two-point lead at the 11:45 mark of the second half.
• Jalen Jackson broke a 5:44 scoreless streak for the Flames with his second basket of the game with 11:03 remaining.
• Carter eclipsed the 20 point mark for the game with his fourth three point basket at the 9:35 mark of the second half.
• The lead would go back-and-forth throughout the second half, with UIC claiming a one-point advantage at the under-8 media timeout.
• The Panthers would go on to score 47 points in the second half, which would prove to be too much for the Flames, who fell by a final score of 78-72.

 
The Flames will return to action on Tuesday, as they will return to the road for a showdown against Missouri State. Tip-off from Springfield, Mo. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT, and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. A live audio broadcast will also be available on the Flames Network with Jonathan Hood and Kenny Williams on the call, accessible via the men's basketball schedule at UICFlames.com.