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thevalley
Steve Woltmann
61
Winner Bradley BRAD 14-3,5-1 MVC
60
UIC UIC 10-6,3-3 MVC
Winner
Bradley BRAD
14-3,5-1 MVC
61
Final
60
UIC UIC
10-6,3-3 MVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Bradley BRAD 25 36 61
UIC UIC 34 26 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Drops 61-60 Heartbreaker to #2 (Mid-Major) Bradley

Flames led MVC front-runner for more than 35 minutes, but fall on a last-second three-pointer.

CHICAGO (Jan. 11, 2025) — The UIC men's basketball team led Missouri Valley Conference front-runner Bradley for nearly the entire final 35 minutes, and by as many as 13 points, in Saturday's matchup before the Braves (ranked No. 2 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll) rallied to barely squeak out a last-second 61-60 win over the Flames at Credit Union 1 Arena. It was only the second loss in the past eight games for UIC, with both defeats coming down to the final seconds.

The Flames (10-6, 3-3 MVC) were paced by junior guard Jordan Mason (San Antonio, Texas/Clark/Texas State), who scored a game-high 15 points. UIC also picked up double-doubles from a pair of sophomores, as guard Ahmad Henderson II (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Niagara) had 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while forward Sasa Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia/Koder School/Xavier) collected 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. It was Henderson's first career double-double, while Ciani posted his conference-leading fifth of the season.

As a team, the Flames held Bradley (14-3, 5-1) to 35.3 percent shooting, including 30.4 percent from three-point range, but one game after its best three-point shooting of the season, UIC was uncharacteristically undone by its lowest percentage from beyond the arc this year (.087).

The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's game against Bradley can be found here.


COACH'S COMMENTS


SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS


















BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • UIC is 2-2 this season against teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll at tipoff, with Saturday also marking the third time in the past four games the Flames have played a ranked mid-major team (91-79 win over No. 13 Yale on Nov. 8; 74-70 win over No. 1 Drake on Jan. 1; 92-87 loss at No. 20 Belmont on Jan. 4; 61-60 loss to No. 2 Bradley on Saturday).
  • Four of the Flames' five MVC games since the Christmas holiday break have been decided by six points or fewer.
  • On Saturday, UIC took the lead with 15:33 left in the first half and did not trail again until Bradley made a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds to play.
  • UIC had two players record double-doubles in the same game for the first time since Feb. 28, 2024, in a triple-overtime loss to Drake at Credit Union 1 Arena (Isaiah Rivera - 19 points/12 rebounds; CJ Jones - 16 points/14 assists).
  • UIC's eight turnovers tied for second-fewest this season and fewest vs. a Division I opponent (6 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn. on Nov. 16; 8 vs. Drake on Jan. 1).
  • The Flames were whistled for 23 fouls, their second-highest total this year (25 at Northwestern on Nov. 12). In addition, Bradley's 27 free throw attempts tied for the second-most by a UIC opponent this year (33 by Northwestern on Nov. 12; 27 by James Madison on Nov. 21 in Daytona Beach, Fla.).
  • Saturday's game was the closest between UIC and Bradley since the Flames' last series win (71-70 on Nov. 17, 2018, in Chicago). 

UP NEXT
UIC winds up its brief two-game Valley homestand at 7 p.m. (CT) Wednesday, playing host to Murray State at Credit Union 1 Arena. The Valley on ESPN will broadcast the game live (can also be seen on ESPN+), while fans are encouraged to listen to the game free of charge on the Flames 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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