VALPARAISO, Ind. (Jan. 20, 2024) – Sophomore guard
CJ Jones (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) led four UIC players in double figures with 18 points and added a game-high eight assists, but Valparaiso found just enough of an edge in the final two minutes to pull out an 84-77 victory in Missouri Valley Conference action Saturday at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind.
Junior forward
Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) scored 15 points – two off his season high – while collecting a team-high six rebounds and three assists. Senior guard
Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) chipped in with 11 points and graduate student guard
Marquise Kennedy (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Loyola) completed the Flames' double-figure quartet with 10 points.
UIC (8-11, 1-7 MVC) shot 46.9 percent from the field, including an even 40 percent (10-of-25) from three-point range. The Flames also were strong with the basketball on Saturday, committing a season-low five turnovers.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Disappointed for our guys," said head coach
Luke Yaklich. "We had every opportunity to extend some leads and we didn't. Credit to Valpo — they made some tough shots and tough plays when they needed to. Our fouling in the second half obviously slowed the game down where we couldn't get out in transition. Our defense in the second half was not up to standard and allowed them to have just enough life that they felt they could still get back in the game and then we couldn't shut the door. We're going through a really tough stretch right now and I feel for our guys, but we're going to bounce back, get ready for the next one, continue to roll on and find our way."
FIRST HALF
- UIC scored seven of the game's first nine points, with Kennedy converting a pair of drives through the lane to make it 7-2 Flames (17:03).
- The teams traded three-pointers on five consecutive possessions across a 70-second span, the last by Skobalj that put UIC on top, 16-8 at the 14:06 mark.
- Senior guard Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) followed with a layup to give the Flames their first double-digit lead (18-8) with 13:41 to play in the half.
- Valparaiso put together a 13-2 run to briefly take a 21-20 lead with 7:19 to go.
- Jones quickly answered with a three-pointer 14 seconds later and UIC went into the media timeout, leading 23-21.
- Jones' triple sparked a 13-0 Flames run to give UIC its largest lead of the first half at 33-21 with 4:26 remaining. Jones had seven of the Flames' 13 points in the spree.
- The Beacons cut into the margin somewhat during the final four minutes of the half, but UIC still maintained a five-point edge (39-34) at the interval.
- Skobalj led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, while Jones added seven points and five assists. As a team, UIC shot .485 in the period, including 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range.
SECOND HALF
- It was a one- or two-possession lead for UIC during the opening two minutes of the second half, with Valparaiso getting within two once and 44-41 at the 17:43 mark.
- The Flames put together a 12-3 run over the next three minutes to boost their lead back into double figures, matching their largest margin of the day at 56-44 on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Steven Clay (Milwaukee, Wis./Menomenee Falls) with 14:39 left.
- UIC would hold its 12-point lead on three other occasions, the last on a hook shot in the lane by redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Brownell (Sandy, Utah/Alta) that made it 66-53 just before the midpoint of the second half.
- A dunk by Jones and a putback from Skobalj with 7:47 to play made it 70-59 in favor of the Flames.
- Valparaiso came back with a 13-3 run over the next four minutes, getting within 73-72 at the 3:44 juncture.
- Okani followed by splitting a pair of foul shots and a thunderous dunk, the latter making it 76-72 UIC with 2:30 left before a late Beacons' run turned the margin in the hosts' favor.
NOTES
- UIC made 10 three-pointers in a game for the eighth time this season and first since Jan. 2 at Murray. State (12). The Flames have also made at least eight triples in four in a row and five of their last six games, as well as 14 of 19 games this season.
- The five turnovers were the fewest by UIC in a single game in more than nine years (Dec. 30, 2014 – 2 vs. Judson).
- Jones posted his third consecutive double-figure scoring game and is averaging 18.3 ppg. in that span, including a career-high 25 points on Jan. 13 vs. Bradley.
- Jones recorded eight assists in a game for the sixth time this season and first since Dec. 21, when he had nine assists against Incarnate Word.
- Kennedy tied his season high with 10 points, matching his total at Loyola on Nov. 14.
- More than half (10) of UIC's 19 games this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer, including six away from home (road/neutral sites).
UP NEXT
UIC returns home to Credit Union 1 Arena at 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday for a Missouri Valley Conference contest against Indiana State. It will be the Flames' annual Coaches vs. Cancer game, a nationwide collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society to increase awareness of the fight against cancer. In addition, it will be UIC's Fraternity and Sorority Life Night, welcoming students and administrators from the University's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Wednesday's game against Indiana State will be televised live on ESPN+, while the free live Flames Network radio broadcast and live stats will both be available at
UICFlames.com.
Tickets for all UIC basketball home 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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