Box Score ST. LOUIS – The UIC men's basketball team played in its first-ever State Farm Missouri Valley Men's Basketball Tournament game Thursday night, as it took on Missouri State in the First Round. The Flames were unable to keep pace with the Bears offense, who went on to shoot just under 50 percent, and would go on to drop the contest by a final score of 74-57.
 
FIRST HALF

• The Bears got off to a strong start in the first five minutes, forcing a UIC timeout at the 15:07 mark after taking a 11-4 lead.
• The Flames answered the early Missouri State start with a 6-0 run of their own, to bring the deficit to just three at 13-10.
• UIC used the three-pointer to narrow the gap late in the first half, tying the game at 23-23 with a Christian Jones three.
• Filip Skobalj led the way for UIC in the first half, as his seven points paced a balanced offensive attack in the first 20 minutes.
• The Flames used a late 6-0 run in the final two minutes of the half to enter the locker room trailing just 34-30.
• UIC shot 38.7 percent from the field in the first half, while the Bears shot 43.3 percent.

SECOND HALF

• Missouri State opened the second half much the same as it did the first, jumping to a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 11.
• Christian Jones and Jalen Jackson both netted four early second half points to help keep the Flames in the game during the first eight minutes.
• The Bears crashed the boards hard throughout the night, grabbing seven offensive rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
• UIC forced a Missouri State time out at the 8:48 mark, following a 6-0 run over just 57 seconds of clock time.
• The Flames defense held the Bears without a field goal for over four and a half minutes prior to the under four-minute time out.
• Three double-digit scorers for the Bears kept Missouri State in the lead late, as the Flames fell by a final score of 74-57, ending their 2022-23 season.

 
The Flames close the season with a 12-20 overall record, and a 4-16 mark in their inaugural season in the Missouri Valley Conference. The men's basketball program would like to thank Flames fans for their support and dedication to the program throughout the 2022-23 season.