CHICAGO (Dec. 21, 2023) – Redshirt sophomore forward
Jaden Brownell (Sandy, Utah/Alta) scored a team-high 16 points and junior guard
Ethan Pickett (Pensacola, Fla./Cherokee/Triton) posted his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, but it wasn't quite enough as the UIC men's basketball team (7-5) fell in the final seconds to Incarnate Word, 67-66, on Thursday afternoon at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Thursday's game was a nip-and-tuck affair, featuring 10 ties and 21 lead changes. In addition, neither team led by more than seven points the entire way.
Senior guard
Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) tallied 14 points, senior guard
Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) added 13 points and seven rebounds and sophomore guard
CJ Jones (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) contributed a balanced line with eight points, a career-best six rebounds and game-high nine assists for the Flames.
Josiah Hammons scored 23 points for Incarnate Word, while Alex Anderson added 17 points, including the game-winning basket with 2.1 seconds to play.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Our overall intensity and attention to detail in contesting shots was not there today," said head coach
Luke Yaklich. "Credit to Incarnate Word, they made shots when they needed to, and we hit a few lulls offensively that spelled our demise."
FIRST HALF
- UIC jumped out to a 10-3 lead on a three-pointer by Brownell with 14:07 to go in the first half. Rivera had four points in the game-opening surge.
- The Flames kept their lead at six points on three other occasions during the next two minutes, the last when Brownell split a pair of free throws for a 13-7 lead at the 12:38 mark.
- Incarnate Word came back with a 13-0 run during the next 2:47 to take what would be the Cardinals' largest lead of the day at 20-13 with 9:51 to go in the half.
- UIC answered with a 10-2 run, regaining a 23-22 lead at the 6:55 juncture when Brownell was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws.
- It remained a one-possession game for the ensuing four minutes, with the Flames moving in front 32-31 on Rivera's three-point with 2:04 to go.
- Incarnate Word scored the final five points of the half to take the lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
- UIC charged from the gate in the second half, going on a 7-0 run that included a three-point play from Rivera and a dunk from Okani, the latter of which sparked a Cardinals' timeout with 16:37 remaining, as the Flames led, 39-36.
- The visitors hit a three-pointer on their first possession after the timeout, and the game then settled into a back-and-forth contest that saw 11 lead changes over the next nine minutes and had neither team ahead by more than two points.
- Brownell drilled a pair of three-pointers, the second with 6:44 to play that gave UIC a 60-56 lead.
- The Flames stretched the margin to 64-58 when Jones made one of two foul shots at the 4:23 mark.
- Incarnate Word scored the next seven points and took a 65-64 lead on Hammons' three-pointer with 1:57 left.
- UIC responded and took a 66-65 lead on the next possession when Jones knocked down a contested runner in the lane (1:30).
- Both teams came up empty on their next trips down the floor before Anderson put Incarnate Word back ahead on a reverse layup with 2.1 seconds left.
- Following timeouts by each side, UIC fired a full-court pass but it did not connect and went out of bounds with 1.2 seconds left.
- The Flames got one final chance when they intercepted the Cardinals' inbounds pass in the backcourt, but UIC wasn't able to get a three-quarter court heave off in time.
NOTES
- For the third consecutive game, Brownell tied his career high by making four three-pointers, this time on eight attempts.
- Pickett is the second UIC player with a double-double this season — Okani has three to his credit.
- Pickett's previous career high for rebounds had been eight in the Flames' most recent game on Dec. 16 against Western Michigan.
- Jones' nine assists marked the second-highest total of his career, behind only the 11 assists he had in last weekend's victory over Western Michigan.
- Jones' previous rebounding high was five, which he had set on five separate occasions (most recently on Dec. 8 at Jacksonville State).
- For the second game in a row, UIC posted a season-low turnover count, finishing with only eight giveaways on Thursday against Incarnate Word (after nine against WMU).
UP NEXT
Following the holiday break, UIC will return to Missouri Valley Conference play with a two-game road trip that starts Dec. 30 with a 6 p.m. (CT) contest at Southern Illinois. 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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