Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (Dec. 8, 2023) – Senior guard
Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) scored a game-high 14 points, including four key free throws in the final 30 seconds as the UIC men's basketball team (6-3) returned to the win column by going nearly wire-to-wire to defeat Jacksonville State, 55-49 on Friday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.
In a battle between two programs ranked among the top 30 in the nation in scoring defense, the Flames earned their fourth victory away from home this season in what was their fifth game this year (and fourth in a row) to be decided by 10 points or fewer — UIC is 3-2 in those contests.
Sophomore guard
CJ Jones (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in Friday's win, while senior guard
Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) almost posted a double-double, winding up with nine points and game highs of 10 rebounds and four blocks.
As a team, UIC held the Gamecocks to 35.7-percent shooting, including a 1-of-12 (.083) from three-point range that was the fewest treys allowed by UIC in a true road game in more than 11 years, continuing the Flames' season-long success defending the arc. UIC came into the game ranked second nationally in three-point percentage defense at .225, a figure that dropped further to .215 after Friday's performance.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"It was a great response game for our team after a disappointing loss to Illinois State," said head coach
Luke Yaklich. "We had a good focus about us. The loss galvanized us, the guys had a good team meeting, there was a purpose to what we were doing and it looked like the team we've coached for seven of our eight games this season. Any time you can win on the road against a team that plays defense like they (Jacksonville State) do, and are as physical as they are, you take it and know it's preparation for The Valley."
FIRST HALF
- UIC came out of the gates well, opening on an 8-0 run in the first 3:15 of the game, a charge that includes a pair of baskets from Jones.
- Jacksonville State broke its scoring drought at the 16:28 mark, the first of three straight buckets for the Gamecocks.
- The Flames came back with six of the next eight points, rebuilding a 14-8 lead on a jumper by redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell (Sandy, Utah/Alta) with 11:48 to go in the half.
- JSU put together a 10-3 run to briefly take its only lead of the period (18-17) on a Mason Nicholson dunk with 6:44 remaining.
- UIC locked down on defense from there, holding the hosts without a field goal the rest of the way and closing the half on an 8-1 run to take a 25-19 halftime lead.
- Jones led the Flames with six points, five rebounds and three assists in the first half.
SECOND HALF
- Rivera wasted little time in getting UIC on the board in the second half, drilling a three-pointer from the left wing just six seconds in (UIC 28-19).
- The Flames bumped their lead to 11 points twice, the second at 32-21 on Okani's driving layup in transition with 17:08 to play.
- JSU came back with a 6-0 run to close the margin to five points inside of the 16-minute mark.
- Graduate student guard Marquise Kennedy (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Loyola) was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three of his foul shots to cap an 8-2 run for UIC and give the Flames their largest lead of the night at 45-33 with 11:16 remaining.
- After the Gamecocks made consecutive baskets to get the margin back into single digits, the teams traded scores for the next six minutes, with UIC grabbing a 51-43 lead on a layup by junior forward Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) at the 3:23 mark.
- Jacksonville State made a final push and got as close as 51-49 with 50 seconds to play.
- Rivera would be fouled late in the following possession with 29 seconds left in the game and UIC in the one-and-one bonus. The veteran guard calmly stepped to the line and made both of his foul shots.
- Rivera would repeat the process with :05 left, canning two more one-and-one bonus free throws after the UIC defense forced a missed JSU shot and a turnover on the Gamecocks' final two possessions.
NOTES
- UIC held Jacksonville State to one made three-pointer, the fewest allowed by the Flames on an opponent's home court since Feb. 21, 2012, when Butler went 1-for-11 from three-point range in a matchup at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
- It was the first time UIC had held any opponent to a single three-pointer in a game since Jan. 15, 2021, when Robert Morris went 1-of-14 from beyond the arc in a 67-53 UIC win at Credit Union 1 Arena.
- The Flames limited JSU to 19 first-half points, tying a season-low single-half point total for a UIC opponent, first set by Middle Tennessee in the second half of the Flames' 70-40 win over the Blue Raiders on Nov. 24 in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in Nassau, Bahamas.
- This marked the third time this season UIC held an opponent to fewer than 50 points (also Nov. 19 vs. Aurora and Nov. 24 vs. Middle Tennessee). The Flames are also now 14-1 in the Luke Yaklich era when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points in a game.
- UIC tied a season high with eight blocks, matching its totals at Loyola (Nov. 14) and against Middle Tennessee (Nov. 24).
- UIC is 2-0 this season against Conference USA opponents, having also defeated C-USA preseason co-favorite Middle Tennessee on Nov. 24.
- UIC is 2-0 all-time against Jacksonville State, having also won last year's matchup in Chicago, 67-60.
- The Flames are 2-0 all-time when playing in the state of Alabama. Friday's game was UIC's first in the Yellowhammer State since Nov. 30, 1998, when the Flames earned a 74-67 win at Alabama State.
- Okani picked up his third double-digit rebounding game of the season (ninth of his career) and first since the Nov. 10 home-opening win over Little Rock, when he also had 10 boards.
UP NEXT
UIC returns to Credit Union 1 Arena to begin a three-game homestand at 7 p.m. (CT) Tuesday, Dec. 12, against former Horizon League foe Green Bay. 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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