NASHVILLE (Jan. 4, 2025) — Sophomore guard
Ahmad Henderson II (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice/Niagara) scored a season-high 18 points to lead four UIC players in double figures, but his bid for a game-tying three-pointer with seven seconds left barely rimmed out and Belmont (10-5, 2-2 MVC), which was ranked No. 20 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, converted two free throws to clinch a 92-87 decision over the Flames (9-5, 2-2 MVC) in Missouri Valley Conference action on Saturday at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The result snapped UIC's season-best five-game winning streak and came despite the Flames erasing a double-digit deficit to tie or take the lead for the fourth time in the past five games.Â
Junior guard
Javon Jackson (Houston, Texas/C.E. King/Southern Nazarene/Utah State) scored 17 points and grabbed a season-best eight rebounds, graduate student guard
Tyem Freeman (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest/UCF/Kent State) tallied 13 points and sophomore forward
Sasa Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia/Koder School/Xavier) chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals. As a team, UIC shot 46.9 percent from the field and knocked down 12 three-pointers, one off its season high.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's game at Belmont can be found
here.
COACH'S COMMENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC topped the 80-point mark for the sixth time this season and first since a 96-83 win over La Salle on Nov. 22 at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday's combined 179 points also matched that La Salle score for the second-most points in a UIC game this year.
- The Flames made 12 three-pointers, tying for the most they have made against a Division I opponent this year (they made 12 vs. Yale on Nov. 8 and a season-high 13 vs. Saint Mary's-Minn. on Nov. 16). It was the seventh time this season UIC had double-digit three-pointers in a game (first since 10 vs. Dartmouth on Dec. 8).
- This marked the eighth time this year UIC has had at least four players score in double figures.
- Henderson scored a season-high 18 points, one more than his 17 points on Nov. 21 against James Madison at the Boardwalk Battle in Daytona Beach. Henderson also made a season-best four three-pointers, one off his career high on Nov. 11, 2023, vs. Bucknell when he was playing for Niagara.
- Jackson's season-high eight rebounds were one shy of his career high on Dec. 17, 2022, vs. Southwestern Oklahoma when he was playing for Southern Nazarene.
- Ciani's career-high four steals surpassed his previous best of two thefts on two occasions, the last on Nov. 4 against St, Francis (Ill.) in his UIC debut.
- This was the third of UIC's five career matchups against Belmont to be decided by single digits, with Saturday being the closest margin in the abbreviated series.
- UIC is 2-1 this season against teams ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll (wins over No. 13 Yale on Nov. 18 and No. 1 Drake on Jan. 1).
UP NEXT
UIC caps its two-game MVC road trip and a stretch of five out of six away from home when ir travels to Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. (CT) contest at Missouri State. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ from Great Southern Bank Arena, while fans are encouraged to listen to the game free of charge on the Flames Network at
UICFlames.com.Â
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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