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UIC Athletics

thevalley
Isaiah Rivera Loyola
Mark Black
72
Winner UIC UIC 2-1,0-0 MVC
67
Loyola Chicago Loyola 1-2,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
UIC UIC
2-1,0-0 MVC
72
Final
67
Loyola Chicago Loyola
1-2,0-0 Atlantic 10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UIC UIC 36 36 72
Loyola Chicago Loyola 37 30 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Flames Take Down Loyola, 72-67 in Crosstown Clash

UIC turns up the defense late to earn its first win over the Ramblers since 2013.

CHICAGO (Nov. 14, 2023) – Senior guard Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) scored 23 points and senior guard Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) added 20 points and eight rebounds to lead UIC to a thrilling 72-67 win at Loyola on Tuesday night at Gentile Arena in Rogers Park.
 
Graduate student guard Marquise Kennedy (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Loyola) came off the bench to score all 10 of his points in the second half, including six clutch free throws in the final minute as the Flames (2-1) earned their first win over the Ramblers since 2013 and their first road victory at Loyola since 2009.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We knew this was an environment where we would have to play a tough, physical game," said head coach Luke Yaklich postgame. "A win like this can give your team confidence moving forward, and this win exemplifies who we want to be as a team."
 
FIRST HALF
  • UIC wasted little time in getting going, as junior forward Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) and Okani buried three-pointers in the opening 94 seconds for an early 6-0 lead.
  • Okani followed with his second trey and a jumper in the lane as UIC grabbed a 13-7 lead at the first media timeout.
  • Loyola scored four in a row, but Rivera stopped that mini-run with an old-fashioned three-point play at the 12:31 mark (16-11 UIC).
  • The Flames led by as many as five for the following five minutes before Loyola went on a 17-5 run to take its first (and ultimately largest) lead of the game at 37-29 on a three-pointer by Greg Dolan with 2:39 to go in the half.
  • UIC didn't back down and responded with a critical 7-0 run to end the first half, capped by Rivera's three-pointer for :05 left, sending the teams to the locker room with Loyola ahead by a single point (37-36).
 
SECOND HALF
  • Much like the first half, UIC came out sharp to begin the second half, going on a 9-2 run (making it a combined 16-2 run bridging the first and second halves) to grab a 45-39 lead on Rivera's dunk with 17:37 to play. Rivera scored seven of UIC's first nine points in the second half and 10 in the combined 16-2 run.
  • Loyola pulled back within one possession twice over the next four minutes, but on the second occasion, redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell (Sandy, Utah/Alta) drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to rebuild a 53-48 lead (13:04).
  • The Ramblers answered with an 8-0 run to retake a 56-53 lead on two foul shots by Braden Norris with 8:46 to play.
  • Loyola held its three-point lead for the next three minutes before UIC pulled even yet again, tying the score at 60-60 on Rivera's long three-pointer at the 5:32 mark.
  • Kennedy followed with two free throws to, as it turned out, put the Flames ahead for good at 62-60 with 4:43 remaining.
  • From there, the UIC defense rose up to put the clamps on Loyola, holding the Ramblers to 1-of-7 shooting over the final 4:22.
  • Kennedy then iced the victory with his 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line during the final minute, twice converting the front ends of 1-and-1 situations and all six foul shots coming when UIC led by three points.
 
NOTES
  • UIC regains a 31-30 lead in the all-time series with Loyola, defeating the Ramblers for the first time since Jan. 16, 2013 (a 61-59 victory at Credit Union 1 Arena).
  • The Flames earn their first win over the Ramblers at Loyola's Gentile Arena since Feb. 27, 2009, when they posted a 62-58 victory.
  • As the overall series record indicates, the UIC-Loyola rivalry has been extremely competitive. In fact, counting Tuesday's contest, 40 of the 61 games between the Flames and Ramblers have been decided by 10 points or less.
  • UIC was incredibly efficient at the foul line on Tuesday, converting 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the stripe. That was the Flames' best free throw shooting performance since Feb. 11, 2017, when they made 93.8 percent (15-of-16) of their charity tosses in a 66-63 loss to Cleveland State.
  • Tuesday marked the first time UIC had two 20-point scorers in the same game since Feb. 26, 2023, when Jace Carter (22) and Tre Anderson (21) topped that total in a 68-65 loss to Southern Illinois.
  • UIC knocked down 10 three-pointers on Tuesday, the second consecutive game in which the Flames have made double-digit triples.
 
UP NEXT
UIC returns to Credit Union 1 Arena Sunday for a 4 p.m. (CT) matchup with Aurora. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and the live Flames Radio Network broadcast will be available free at UICFlames.com. Sunday's game will also be the nightcap of a Flames' basketball doubleheader at Credit Union 1 Arena, with the UIC women's basketball team playing host to IUPUI at 1 p.m. (CT).
 
Tickets for all UIC basketball games can be purchased online through Ticketmaster and UICFlames.com/Tickets, as well as through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1) or by visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game night.
 
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_mbb and @uicflames).
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