EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Jan. 31, 2024) – Senior guard
Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo/Colorado State) scored a team-high 15 points and senior guard
Toby Okani (Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)) added a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but UIC faltered down the stretch and came up on the short end of a 77-60 decision at Evansville in Missouri Valley Conference action Wednesday night at the Ford Center.
Rivera and Okani led four Flames in double figures, with sophomore guard
CJ Jones (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) and junior forward
Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) each contributing 10 points. Okani also tied his career high with four steals and added two blocks to go along with his fourth double-double of the year.
Jones' free throw with 11:36 to play gave UIC (8-14, 1-10 MVC) a 46-45 lead after the Flames erased a seven-point halftime deficit. However, Evansville responded with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes and went on to take the win.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"I thought we came out initially, established a rhythm offensively, and set the tone defensively to start the game" said head coach
Luke Yaklich. "We hit a lull there in the first half that allowed them to get out to the seven-point lead. We regrouped at halftime and the guys did a good job, despite not making shots early in the second half, our defense got ourselves back to build a lead. Then we had one really poor four-minute stretch when they went 14-2 and that ultimately created the separation they needed and we couldn't quite overcome."
FIRST HALF
- The Flames came out firing, as Jones and Skobalj connected on three-pointers in the opening 51 seconds to give UIC the early six-point lead.
- UIC stretched its advantage to seven points on two occasions in the next five minutes, the second on a driving layup by Rivera that made it 15-8 with 15:18 remaining in the half.
- Okani boosted the Flames' lead to 20-11, its largest of the period, on a three-pointer from the right side at the 12:53 mark, capping an opening stretch that saw UIC make seven of its first nine shots and eight of its first 12, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.
- Another triple, this time by sophomore guard Steven Clay (Milwaukee, Wis./Menomenee Falls), made it 23-16 just before the midpoint of the first half.
- Evansville countered with a 13-2 run to take the lead at 29-25 with 7:20 to go in the frame.
- Consecutive buckets from Clay and Jones drew the Flames back even at 29 heading into the final media timeout of the half.
- The Purple Aces closed the period on an 8-1 run to take a 37-30 halftime lead.
- Okani led UIC with eight points and three rebounds in the first half.
SECOND HALF
- After the teams played even for the first five minutes of the second half, UIC mounted its comeback, going on an 8-0 run to regain a 46-45 lead when Jones made the first of two foul shots at the 11:36 mark.
- Evansville scored 14 of the next 16 points in a span of 4:03 to retake the lead for good.
- The Flames would not go down without a fight, getting within 61-53 when Rivera converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:26 to go.
- The Purple Aces padded their lead at the free throw line down the stretch by making 12 of 14 foul shots in the closing minutes.
NOTES
- Okani posted his fourth double-double of the season and first since Dec. 12 against Green Bay. His 12 rebounds were a season high, one more than his previous best he recorded in the Nov. 6 season opener at Cincinnati.
- Okani's four steals tied his career high that he set on Dec. 30 at Southern Illinois.
- Evansville set UIC opponent season highs by going 25 of 33 from the free throw line.
- Jones scored in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, extending the longest such run of his young career.
UP NEXT
UIC opens the month of February at home with a 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday matinee against Southern Illinois at Credit Union 1 Arena (live on ESPN+ and the Flames Network). Saturday's game will be Baum Family Fund Day, High School Band Day and Alumni Day, the latter of which will include recognition of the Flames' 2004 Horizon League championship and NCAA Tournament team.
Tickets for Saturday's game – and all remaining 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 day.
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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