DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 22, 2024) — Senior forward
Filip Skobalj (Belgrade, Serbia/Don Bosco-Schule Rostock) rang up a season-high 19 points, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, to pace five UIC players in double figures and sophomore forward
Sasa Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia/Koder School/Xavier) added his second career double-double with 10 points and a career high-tying 11 rebounds as the Flames (4-2) raced past La Salle, 96-83 on Friday in the Boardwalk Battle consolation semifinals at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. It was UIC's third win over an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent in the past two seasons, following up last year's victories over Loyola and George Washington.
Junior guard
Jordan Mason (San Antonio, Texas/Clark/Texas State) and graduate student guard
Tyem Freeman (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest/UCF/Kent State) came off the bench to score 18 and 13 points, respectively. Sophomore guard
Ahmad Henderson II (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Niagara) rounded out UIC's double-figure quintet with 12 points, including 8-of-8 free throws.Â
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Friday's win over La Salle can be found
here.
COACH'S COMMENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
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BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in five of its six games this season. The five in Friday's game tied for a Flames season high, first set in the Nov. 8 home win over Yale.
- Also for the fifth time this year, UIC knocked down at least 10 three-pointers.
- The Flames scored at least 80 points for the fifth time this season and topped the 90-point mark for the fourth time.
- This is the first time in the 78-year history of the UIC men's basketball program that it has had four 90-point outings in its opening six games.
- The Flames are at their highest scoring pace through their first six games (91.7 ppg.) in program history, supplanting the 1983-84 squad that averaged 91.2 ppg. through its first six contests.
- UIC has shot 45 percent or better in all six games this year, including 50 percent in four of those contests (52.8 percent on Friday).
- The Flames went 30-of-34 (.882) at the free throw line, their most made foul shots in a game since Nov. 16, 2016, when they went 34-of-47 at the stripe in a home win over UTSA.
- Skobalj's 19 points were two off his career high of 21, set on Feb. 11, 2024, in a home win over UNI.
- Ciani's 11 rebounds matched his career high from the Nov. 8 home win over Yale, which also resulted in his first career double-double (13 points/11 rebounds). Ciani was also a career-best 6-of-7 at the free throw line and wound up scoring in double figures for the fifth time in as many appearances this season.Â
- Henderson's 8-for-8 showing at the charity stripe tied his career high from the Nov. 8 Yale win. He finished in double figures for the fifth time this year.
- Mason posted the best scoring day of his brief UIC career with 18 points, topping his 16-point effort against Yale.
- Mason and Freeman both registered their third double-figure scoring games this season.Â
UP NEXT
UIC wraps up play at the Boardwalk Battle in the consolation final at noon (CT) Saturday at the Ocean Center. The Flames will take on the winner of Friday's game between East Carolina and Stetson. The Flames' contest on Saturday will be broadcast live on subscription-based BallerTV (
ballertv.com) and free of charge on the Flames Radio Network at
UICFlames.com.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC men's basketball, 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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