CHICAGO (Dec. 12, 2023) – Senior guard
Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) collected his third double-double of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, but the UIC men's basketball team (6-4) came up on the short end of a last-second 70-68 decision to Green Bay (5-6) on Tuesday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Senior guard
Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) had 13 points and redshirt sophomore forward
Jaden Brownell (Sandy, Utah/Alta) came off the bench to add 12 points on 4-of-4 three-pointers for the Flames, who played their fifth consecutive game (and sixth of the season) to be decided by 10 points or fewer.
As a team, UIC connected on 12-of-19 three-pointers (season-high .632), led by Brownell and Okani, the latter of whom went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Green Bay's Noah Reynolds scored a game-high 31 points, while Elijah Jones added 10 points and 11 rebounds, including the game-winning offensive putback with 0.6 seconds remaining.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"For the second straight home game, we didn't come out strong enough defensively in the second half," said head coach
Luke Yaklich. "Their offensive efficiency coupled with our inability to score inside in the second half is what prevented us from winning tonight. We have to get back to work and get ready for Western Michigan on Saturday."
FIRST HALF
- UIC came roaring out of the gate, scoring the game's first 10 points in the opening 4:14, highlighted by five markers from junior guard Ethan Pickett (Pensacola, Fla./Cherokee/Triton).
- That would be the first of four early 10-point leads for the Flames, the last at 20-10 on the second of four first-half three-pointers from Brownell with 11:01 remaining.
- Green Bay scored the next four points before the game settled into a three-point shooting contest, as the teams traded triples on five of the next scoring trips down the floor. The last of those deep shots came from junior guard Yusef Salih (Gainesville, Va./Highland School/Idaho) to rebuild UIC's double-digit lead (31-20, 7:04).
- Brownell's fourth three-pointer of the half gave the Flames their largest lead of the period at 34-22 with 6:11 to go.
- The Phoenix answered with a 9-0 run to get within one possession late in the first half (34-31, 1:22).
- Rivera sent the Flames to the locker room on a high note, gathering a loose ball near midcourt and pulling up just inside the UIC logo to bury a triple at the halftime horn and give the hosts a 37-31 lead.
SECOND HALF
- UIC scored five of the first seven points of the second half and grabbed a 42-33 lead on a three-pointer by sophomore guard CJ Jones (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) with 18:12 to play.
- Green Bay replied with an 8-0 run to close within 42-41 on two foul shots from Reynolds at th3 15:52 mark.
- The Flames charged back with an 11-1 run to retake a double-digit lead at 53-43 on Rivera's old-fashioned three-point play with 12:30 left.
- In a back-and-forth second half, the Phoenix again close the gap, this time with a 12-4 run to make it 57-55 UIC with 6:30 to go on two more Reynolds free throws.
- The Flames responded with a key 7-0 run and led 64-55 after Okani made two free throws with 4:37 to play.
- UIC appeared to hold Green Bay at arm's length down the stretch and led 68-64 after Rivera's two foul shots at the 1:19 mark.
- The Phoenix scored the final six points of the game, including Jones' tip-in with 0.6 seconds to play.
- The Flames had a final possession and a three-quarter court pass found Okani on the right block, but his fadeaway jumper at the buzzer was off the mark.
NOTES
- UIC's .632 three-point percentage was its best in a single game since Feb. 12, 2015, when the Flames connected at a .647 clip from beyond the arc at Wright State.
- UIC had a season-high nine blocks, one more than its previous best that had been set on three occasions (most recently last Friday at Jacksonville State).
- Okani posted his third double-double of the season/seventh of his career (first since Nov. 10 against Little Rock) and recorded at least three blocks for the fifth time this year.
- Okani's three three-pointers were a career high, one more than his previous best set on eight prior occasions (the last on Nov. 25 against George Washington in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in Nassau, Bahamas).
- Brownell registered his second double-figure scoring game of the season, finishing two points shy of his career high set on Nov. 19 against Aurora.
- Brownell's 4-of-4 three-point performance was a career high, and one more trey than his previous best set twice before (most recently on Nov. 14, 2022, against Jacksonville State).
- Salih scored his first points in a UIC uniform, connecting on a pair of three-pointers for six points.
- Junior forward Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) grabbed a season-high seven rebounds, having previously had six rebounds in three outings (the last in the Nov. 25 win over George Washington in the Bahamas).
UP NEXT
UIC continues its season-long three-game homestand at 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday when Western Michigan comes to Credit Union 1 Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with the free live Flames Network radio broadcast and live stats both available at
UICFlames.com.
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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